


Midnight dancing

by Junliet



Series: Barbie AUs [5]
Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Twelve Dancing Princesses Fusion, Angst with a Happy Ending, Barbie AU, Character Death, F/M, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-05-27
Packaged: 2020-01-14 16:46:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 22,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18480289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Junliet/pseuds/Junliet
Summary: In the rural section of a kingdom, surrounded by trees, fields, and a flowing river, was a large stone castle that fitted into the surroundings. The main town of the kingdom was a short horse ride away from the castle, and kingdom spanned across huge areas of land. The castle was home to the ruler of the kingdom, and he was talking to an envoy in his throne room.AKA: the 12 dancing princesses au I've wanted to write forever but never got around to starting





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [K1mHeechu1](https://archiveofourown.org/users/K1mHeechu1/gifts).



> Hi everyone! Happy birthday Javi! To celebrate this wonderful day, you can all have the start of my new au. I would have updated Coffee but I'm kind of in a mental block with that right now so it will have to wait, sorry! Please enjoy this instead.
> 
> This is gifted to the best person in the world who helped me to decide on the characters. You're the best! Speaking of, here are the characters and the approximate ages for the royals for clarification:
> 
> Genevive: Yuzuru (17)  
> Derek: Javier  
> Ashlyn: Daisuke (22)  
> Blair: Mao (21)  
> Courtney: Rika (20)  
> Delia: Jason (19)  
> Edeline: Gabby (19)  
> Fallon: Evgenia (18)  
> Hadley: Shoma (15)  
> Isla: Kazuki (15)  
> Janessa: Deniss (5)  
> Kathleen: Koshiro (5)  
> Lacey: Jun (5)  
> King Randolph: Yagudin  
> Rowena: Eteri  
> Desmond: Sergei  
> Twyla: Alina  
> Felix: Matteo  
> Brutus: Daniil  
> Isabella: Shizuka
> 
> I hope you all enjoy it!

In the rural section of a kingdom, surrounded by trees, fields, and a flowing river, was a large stone castle that fitted into the surroundings. The main town of the kingdom was a short horse ride away from the castle, and kingdom spanned across huge areas of land. The castle was home to the ruler of the kingdom, and he was talking to an envoy in his throne room.

“And so, as the chief emissary of the majestic kingdom of Bulovia, I have been authorised by my courageous king and my magnificent queen to hereby invite the princes and princesses of King Yagudin to a royal ball.” The envoy paused.

The light-haired king sat forwards on his red throne, listening attentively. The throne next to him was empty, and both matched the carpet in colour. He adjusted his golden crown slightly before the envoy continued.

“We have invited princes and princesses from far and wide to this extraordinary ball, and—”

“Papa, look what I found!”

Two white and gold doors were thrown open, and three young princes ran inside. One, with similar hair to his father and wearing a crisp blue shirt and black velvety trousers ran in first with his hands clasped together. The second, with black hair and wearing a pale peach and golden accented shirt as well as black velvet trousers ran in behind him, smiling brightly.

“You won’t believe it!”

The third trailed behind them, wearing a purple shirt with white accents and similar trousers. He sighed, panting a little for breath as he chased the other two.

“D-Deniss, Koshi, wait for me!”

The envoy’s top lip curled slightly in disgust at the trio and he turned back to the king with an eyeroll. “As I was saying—”

“A blue inch beetle!” The prince in blue said with a bright smile, holding it up to show the king. “It makes a strange noise when it…” the creature took off, making an odd humming noise. The two princes in blue and pale peach exchanged a grin as the other prince stopped beside them both, smiling too. “See?”

The king ducked out of the way of the bug, chuckling lightly as his crown fell off. “Oh my!” As he reached to pick the crown up, the bug flew away from him towards the increasingly impatient envoy.

“Your Majesty, as I was saying—Ugh!” He tried to swat at the bug with his scroll as it flew around next to his ear.

The trio of princes gasped and started to run after the bug.

“Don’t hurt him!”

“Catch him before he gets to the pantry!”

“Slow down you guys!” The youngest rushed after the other two, frowning.

“Playing through!” The envoy and king both turned to see a prince and a princess coming through from one of the other rooms into the throne room. The prince was wearing a green shirt and the same style of black trousers that the other princes had been wearing, and the princess was in a full-length orange dress with flowers and detailed decorations around the neckline. Both had croquet mallets in their hands. “Just be a second Papa.” The princess finished speaking as the prince lined up to hit the ball.

“Your Majesty, I really think that perhaps this isn’t the best—”

The envoy gasped as the king in front of him was hit in the head with the ball, knocking his crown off. The king just laughed, turning towards the prince.

“Jason!” He shook his head with a chuckle as he picked up his crown once again.

“Sorry!” The prince laughed nervously before he turned to the princess with a laugh. “Too much wrist.”

The pair then lined up for another croquet shot, and the envoy eyed them all sceptically.

“Those are your children?”

“A few of them,” the king replied somewhat casually as the pair carried on playing.

“Rambunctious, aren’t they?” The envoy commented.

“Look Papa!” a voice from beside him cut the king off before he had a chance to respond. Two more children, both sons, were on purple and blue stilts, laughing as they walked through the room above everyone else. The king laughed too as they walked past him.

“Hmph,” the envoy folded his arms, shaking his head, “your children are hardly proper princes and princesses.”

Two of the trio of princes ran through the room again, with the youngest trailing behind them once more, the bug firmly clasped in their hands.

“I can’t wait for him to meet Harold!” the one in blue said with a grin.

“Watch out!” the pair looked up just as they collided with the two princes on stilts.

The king winced slightly as the group of boys just burst out laughing, sitting on the floor in fits. The youngest member of the trio finally caught up to them, offering the others a hand up.

“Perhaps another ball,” the envoy cut in, glaring at the group of princes, “Your Majesty.”

He bowed and turned to go, shaking his head. His final words rang louder through the throne room than he initially intended.

“Princes and princesses? More like wild animals.” He said with a snide smirk. Behind him, in front of the king, the trio of little princes chased after their bug again, the twin princes were back up on their stilts, and the prince and princess were playing croquet through the throne room again.

The king sighed, shaking his head a little, as he carried the words in his heart throughout the rest of his duties and his day. He contemplated how to approach the topic with his children. Before he knew it, he was sitting at the head of the empty table for lunch.

“Hello Papa,” the king looked up, broken out of his thoughts by the voice of his eldest child. The prince, clad in a purple shirt and the same black trousers as the other princes, gave the king a light kiss on the cheek before he sat down in the seat at the table next to him.

“Daisuke,” the king smiled, sighing a little.

“How are you Papa?” A princess in a flowing red dress decorated with flowers and intricate embroidery sat down in the seat next to Daisuke, bowing her head out of respect to the king. She tucked a loose piece of her black hair back behind her ear, chuckling as Daisuke brushed some mud off her skirt.

“Mao,” the king bowed his head back.

A third princess, also with long black hair wound up into a bun, walked into the room, nose buried in a book. She crashed into Daisuke’s chair, and the oldest prince chuckled as she lowered the book bashfully, smoothing down the edges of her dark blue dress.

“Rika,” the king said with a light smile.

“Papa,” she laughed a little too before she took her seat next to Mao, opening the book again.

“We’re here Papa!” Another princess headed into the room, a sunshine smile on her face. She adjusted the pink sleeves of her dress and sat down in her seat at the other end of the side with Daisuke on it.

“Evgenia.”

“Hello Papa!” The princess who had been playing croquet sat down next to Evgenia, smiling too.

“What’s for lunch?” The prince in green asked with a smile, sitting between Rika and the princess in orange.

“Gabrielle, Jason.”

“We’re absolutely—”

“—positively—”

“Starving!” the two princes in blue and purple who had been on stilts earlier sat down opposite to Gabrielle and Jason at the table on the other row.

“Hello Shoma, Kazuki,” the king laughed as they sat down.

The trio of little princes giggled as they ran into the room. The ones in blue and peach sat down opposite to Rika and Mao respectively, and the third struggled slightly with his seat.

“Hello Deniss, Koshiro, and Jun Hwan.” The king helped the youngest into the seat next to him, patting his hair gently. “There you are sweetheart.” He then scanned the table and chuckled, shaking his head. “Where is Yuzuru?”

At the empty seat, next to Shoma and opposite to Evgenia, a tortoise shell cat jumped up onto the table, fiddling with the spoon set out next to the bowl of soup. It nearly knocked over the wine glass of water and pushed one of the side plates dangerously close to the edge.

“Alina,” the king sighed with a soft smile, “off the table please.”

A prince scooped the cat up, chuckling lightly as he held her close. He was dressed in a pale pink shirt and the same black trousers as his brothers, and he brushed some of his hair out of his eyes as he cuddled the cat to his chest.

“Sorry I’m late Papa,” he apologised before he sat down in the empty seat with the cat on his lap.

“My twelve princes and princesses,” the king sighed, ready to start speaking.

Instead, the king’s children didn’t listen to him. Rika buried her nose back into her book again, Daisuke and Mao started chatting together, Jason and Gabrielle spoke about tactics for their next sport adventures, Evgenia and Yuzuru leaned across the table to chat, Shoma and Kazuki enthusiastically chatted about their next ideas for making stilts, and the trio of youngsters at the end giggled about bugs.

“Ladies? Gentlemen?” the king tried to speak over the chatter.

His children were more interested in the warm bread rolls set out on the table along with their soup than what their father had to say.

“Please, quieten down!” he tried again, to no avail. He tapped his spoon lightly on the edge of his glass, trying to get their full attention. “Please, listen.”

A hush slowly fell over the group, and, as Jason tapped Rika on the shoulder to get her back to the real world, the group all turned to focus on their father.

“It’s been pointed out to me,” the king started, clearing his throat, “that um… you could be doing more to be… Well… Proper princes and princesses.”

Daisuke and Mao exchanged a look before the older turned to their father. “Like what, Papa?” he asked.

“Well, uh, like… um…” the king tried. Mao and Daisuke exchanged another look. “Like um… Well… Perhaps… Uh… Um…”

A set of white and gold doors opened and one of the servants bowed low to the table of royals. “Excuse me. The royal cobbler has arrived.”

“He’s here!” The twins, Shoma and Kazuki, stood up and waved to their father. “Bye Papa!”

The trio followed them out, with Jun remembering to wave to their father before they all dashed out of the room. Daisuke, Mao, and Rika stood up simultaneously and rushed out too, waving to their father as well.

“Goodbye Papa!” Mao said brightly.

Jason and Gabrielle all but ran towards the door, with Evgenia and Yuzuru close behind them.

“Wait, ladies, gentlemen!” The king stood up, shaking his head. “They’re just shoes!”

Evgenia and Gabrielle gasped, turning to face their father in a mixture of disbelief and confusion. “Just shoes?!” They answered before they rushed out too with Jason.

“Aren’t they?” The king asked the doorway, sighing.

“They’re dancing shoes Papa,” Yuzuru supplied helpfully, kissing his father’s cheek before he too ran from the room.

Alina jumped up onto the table by Yuzuru’s seat and sat down, eating from his soup bowl. The king raised his spoon as he sat back down in his own seat.

“Bon Appetit Alina.”

The trio of little princes were first down the main staircase that led to the entrance to the palace, and they ran down towards the carriage stopped at the bottom. Behind them, their other siblings headed down them too in small groups.

"Javi Javi Javi!!! Do you have our shoes?" Deniss asked as the trio got to the bottom of the staircase and ran over to the cobbler. "Can we see them?"

The cobbler, a brunet with light stubble and a warm smile wearing a red shirt, neat black trousers, and boots, knelt down next to them, humming slightly. "Was I supposed to bring some shoes?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes!" The trio chorused, trying not to bounce with excitement. The cobbler chuckled and stood up, handing a key to Jun Hwan.

"Maybe you can help me then."

The cobbler guided the youngest prince over to the carriage and helped him put the key in the keyhole. Together they turned it, and he helped Jun to open up the doors. The group of princes and princesses gasped as the doors opened and they saw the rows of beautiful, coloured dance shoes.

"They're lovely," Jason complimented as he looked over the top of sibling's heads.

"Woah," Evgenia breathed in awe.

"You're amazing Javier," Daisuke said with a smile as the trio collected their dance shoes.

"I'm glad you like them, Your Highnesses," Javier said, handing the oldest prince his specific pair of purple shoes. He handed a dark pink pair to Evgenia, who sighed happily as she took them from him.

The cobbler handed shoes to the princes and princesses as a green and purple parrot landed on his shoulder.

"I taught him everything he knows," the parrot said proudly, puffing out his feathered chest. Javier chuckled, stroking the feathers on its head lightly.

"Yeah, right Matteo."

"Anything for me?" Yuzuru asked shyly, stepping towards the cobbler and his carriage.

"Are you kidding?" Matteo, the parrot, said to the prince, "man, he'd burn the midnight oil for you."

"T-that'll do Matteo!" Javier stuttered as Matteo flew off, ears turning red as he faced the prince again. "He's just a bird. He doesn't know what he's saying."

"O-oh..." Yuzuru chuckled, blushing slightly pink, "of course."

"Can you please," Shoma spoke up from behind Javier.

"Tighten our shoes?" Kazuki finished.

"Um," Javier handed Yuzuru a pair of pale pink and white shoes, decorated with a few rhinestones, "these are yours." Shoma and Kazuki grabbed his hands and started to pull Javier away from Yuzuru. "I-I... I hope you like them Your Highness!"

Yuzuru watched him go before he looked down at the shoes, gasping in delight. "O-oh!" he breathed out, admiring the dance shoes. He glanced over at where Javier was adjusting his younger brothers' shoes. "Thank you," he whispered.

"Thanks Javier!" the twins said with smiles before they ran off. Javier stood up with a sigh as Matteo landed on his shoulder.

"You blew your chance Romeo."

"What chance?" Javier asked, glancing over at where Yuzuru was admiring the shoes on his feet. "He's a prince and... well..."

Javier's eyes softened as he watched Yuzuru dance around the courtyard with his brothers and sisters. Jason sighed, stopping in front of Javier's carriage with a smile.

"All we're missing is music."

"Music?" Matteo piped up, making Javier's blood freeze. The parrot reached into the cobbler's pocket and pulled out a recorder.

"Hey!" Javier hissed. "Hey! Stop it Matteo!"

"You play?" Yuzuru asked, and Javier's heart fluttered almost painfully.

"I-I don't..." Javier hid the recorder quickly. "Not... Not really..."

Yuzuru tilted his head at him as the trio of youngsters bounced up to him.

"Will you play for us?" Deniss asked brightly, Alina running along next to him.

"Please Javi please!" Jun and Koshiro chimed in together. The trio looked up at the cobbler with wide eyes and big smiles.

"Well... As you wish Your Highnesses." Javier conceded.

He started playing a tune on the recorder, including a little introduction, and the princes and princesses started dancing around together. Daisuke and Mao danced around together, smiling a lot. Yuzuru and Jun did a little section together before the oldest seven started dancing around the main fountain together, with Javier playing by the courtyard. Yagudin, from inside the castle, sighed lovingly as he watched them.

"I love them," he smiled, "but, at times, I don't understand them." He turned to the portrait of a smiling woman with long, dark hair and a sunshine smile wearing a delicate golden crown and a pale blue dress with darker blue accents. "If only you were here..."

Darkness had fallen, and the large, circular room at one end of the castle, surrounded by a balcony, still had the lights on. Twelve beds sat in a circle around the room with a wooden chest at the end of each, and each was decorated with colourful bed spreads and cushions. The twelve princes and princesses milled around in the room; the princesses wore loose white nightgowns and the princes wore loose white shirts and trousers. Yuzuru was still in his pale pink, white, and black clothes, sitting on top of the chest at the end of his bed decorated in matching colours, as he admired the shoes with a smile. Around him, Deniss was chasing after the blue beetle, running between Yuzuru’s pink and Shoma’s blue bed. The twins chatted about making even more stilts; their current pairs were leaning against their chests. Mao sorted out her hair, chatting to Daisuke, as Rika kept on reading, half tripping over her blue bed. Gabrielle dumped her armful of sports equipment between her and Jason’s bed, and her twin smiled.

“Why use a cupboard when the floor is closer?” Jason said with a light chuckle.

“Exactly,” Gabby smiled, untying her hair from the bun it had been tucked up in for the day. She turned to see Yuzuru still admiring the shoes and chuckled to herself. “Yuzu, is it the shoes you like?”

“Or the cobbler who made them?” Evgenia asked from the bed in between Yuzuru’s and Gabby’s before the oldest six princes and princesses started laughing.

“What are you talking about?” Yuzuru asked, holding the shoes a little tighter as he tried to ignore the pink blush across his nose.

“Javi is just so cute!”

“If you say so Evgenia,” Yuzuru teased.

“Maybe the problem is, he’s not a prince,” Daisuke supplied from his bed, opposite to Yuzuru’s across the room as Mao and Rika climbed into their respective beds too, the latter putting her book in the chest at the end of her bed.

“I don’t care if he’s a prince, a king, or an emperor. The truth is—”

“You are head over heels!” Evgenia teased, leaning across her bed to grin at Yuzuru.

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Yuzuru scoffed lightly, holding the shoes closer. “Besides, he… Never notices me. If I were paying attention, which I’m not—”

“Yuzuru’s got it bad,” Daisuke teased, and he and Mao laughed lightly together.

“Goodnight Thomas,” Deniss said by his bed, putting the blue beetle into a glass displaying box. He then opened the next one, patting the stag beetle in it. “Richard.” He gasped when he saw the other was empty and turned to the rest of the room with wide eyes. “Where’s Harold?!”

A collective gasp went around the room, and Daisuke sat up in his bed, scanning the room with wide eyes. “What is he? A spider?”

“A-A scorpion?!” Mao asked.

“A snake?” Rika half shrieked as the room spotted the lump under a rug that looked like a large snake. The rest of the room screamed as Deniss chuckled, standing over it.

“Nope!” He leaned down and held up a green caterpillar, about the size of his little finger. “A caterpillar!”

His older siblings all sighed collectively in relief as he tucked the creature back into the box and climbed into bed. Daisuke smiled, scanning the room to check they were all in safely.

“Goodnight everyone.”

“Night Dai!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A purple carriage pulled by a white horse sped towards the castle, through the gardens that the princes and princesses had danced in just the day before. The wheels shook dangerously as it pulled to a stop by the entrance to the palace, and the whole things creaked as the driver, wearing a purple suit and a white wig, climbed down from the front with a rolled up red carpet in his arms. He laid it out by the door of the carriage before he opened the door, a sickening smirk on his slightly round and wrinkled face.
> 
> “Milady,” he smiled before he pulled the door off its hinges.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again everyone! So, I'm going away for a couple of days and won't be able to write anything else on this until probably next week, so this might be the last update for a little while. We introduce our villain and a little bit of conflict into the story in this chapter. Thank you so much for reading, big thank you to K1mHeechu1 as always, and please enjoy xx

A purple carriage pulled by a white horse sped towards the castle, through the gardens that the princes and princesses had danced in just the day before. The wheels shook dangerously as it pulled to a stop by the entrance to the palace, and the whole things creaked as the driver, wearing a purple suit and a white wig, climbed down from the front with a rolled up red carpet in his arms. He laid it out by the door of the carriage before he opened the door, a sickening smirk on his slightly round and wrinkled face.

“Milady,” he smiled before he pulled the door off its hinges. Panic set in as he hurriedly tried to slot the door back in.

“Thank you, Sergei,” a lady with long curly brown hair climbed out, smoothing out her grey dress as she did. Her face did not fall into a kind smile; instead it twisted into a cruel smirk as she admired the doorway of the castle.

Behind her, the footman just about got the door back on its hinges when she spoke up again.

“Sergei, my things.”

“Oh, uh, yes Milady!”

He walked off towards the back of the carriage where several large cases were stacked. As he moved one off the back into his arms, the door started slipping off its hinges again. Sergei got the cases into a neat stack that towered dangerously above his head. As he did, a grey monkey jumped out of the carriage and onto the roof, tossing another case onto the stack Sergei was holding. The footman glared at the creature and it let out a few noises before it jumped down next to the lady. She noted its arrival with a small smirk as she started up the stairs.

“And the carriage, Milady?” Sergei huffed as he carried the cases up the stairs.

“Oh,” she didn’t even bother stopping as she spoke, “we won’t be needing it again.”

As the trio made their way into the castle, the carriage collapsed behind them, with wheels rolling around the courtyard and the doors falling off. The horse ran off with a panicked whinny as the doors shut behind the lady, footman, and monkey.

“Welcome Duchess Eteri,” one of the servants of the castle said, bowing to the lady as she approached him, “the king is expecting you.”

“Yes,” she said with another cold smirk, “he is.”

The grey monkey jumped up the stairs next to her, making noises at the servant. The man stepped back and stared at it in shock.

“Heavens…”

“Well, don’t tell me the king doesn’t have his own monkey!” Eteri said, eyebrows raised at the servant. He cleared his throat, shaking his head lightly.

“Uh no, Your Grace.”

“Well they’re quite popular this year.” She said, sticking her nose up at him as she walked past him into the house. “Come, Daniil.”

They both walked into the castle together as Sergei staggered up the stairs under the weight of the cases behind them. Eteri paused by the portrait of the dark-haired woman, and studied her for a moment. Her eyes narrowed at the portrait as she idly fiddled with a silver jewellery box resting on the table below the portrait.

“Eteri!” the lady quickly put the box back and turned to where the king was waving at her, smiling. “Good of you to… well… to come on such short notice.”

She smiled overly sweetly and walked towards him, bowing her head. “Happy to be of service, dear cousin. I’m looking forwards to my time here.”

“Come, meet my children. They’re waiting for you.” Yagudin said brightly, unable to hide the smile that blossomed across his face as he spoke about his children.

Yagudin led Eteri up a small set of stairs and into a long, well lit room. Eleven children, with a gap between two, stood in a line together, just back from a red carpet that ran down the middle of the room. Eteri and Yagudin walked together along the carpet, with Daniil the monkey bouncing along beside Eteri.

“Daisuke,” Yagudin gestured to his son, “the eldest.”

Daisuke stepped forwards and bowed to his cousin. “Welcome, Your Grace.”

“Glad to be here, my dear,” Eteri said with a smile before Daisuke stepped back and they continued onto the next.

“Mao, the second eldest.”

The princess bowed wordlessly and Eteri’s eyes narrowed at the skirt of her dress. “Is that mud on your skirt?”

Daisuke looked at his sister with wide, sad eyes as Mao glanced down and chewed her lip slightly. “I was out riding.”

Yagudin cleared his throat as Eteri rolled her eyes slightly. “Rika,” he gestured to his next daughter.

Eteri looked at her, exceedingly unimpressed as Rika kept reading her book, oblivious to the duchess and her father. Mao gently tapped her on the shoulder to bring her back to the real world, and she hurriedly closed her book and curtsied to Eteri.

“O-oh! Um… H-hello!”

“Yes,” Eteri said slowly, looking down her nose at Rika, “hello.”

“Jason and Gabrielle.”

“Your Grace.” Jason said with a smile.

“Greetings, Your Ladyship,” Gabby added as they bowed their heads together.

“And to you,” Eteri said, smile returning as she kept walking.

“Evgenia,” Yagudin gestured to his next daughter.

“Your Grace,” she said with a smile before she cleared her throat, gesturing to Daniil. “Can I hold him? Please?”

The monkey let out a shriek of panic and ducked behind the duchess.

“No! Don’t touch him! He’s quite rare.” Eteri said, shooting a glare at Evgenia. The princess sighed and stepped back in line, watching the monkey sadly.

“And um… Well… um…” Yagudin stumbled slightly. Evgenia and Shoma exchanged a look at the space in between them and shrugged. “The twins! Shoma and Kazuki!”

“Welcome, Your Grace,” they said together, bowing in synch too. Eteri bowed her head back.

“The pleasure is mine.”

“And the triplets!” Yagudin’s face properly lit up at the trio. “Deniss, Koshiro, and Jun Hwan!”

“Hi Your Grace!” the trio chorused together, bowing. Jun Hwan approached the duchess shyly, holding out a red rose to her.

“I picked this for you,” the young prince said, very timidly.

“Would that be paint,” Eteri’s eyes narrowed at the trio, “in your hair?”

All three of them raised their hands, touching at the green and red flecks of paint in their hair, as they looked away from the duchess with sadness and disappointment in their young eyes.

“And… Well… We’re just missing um… Yuzuru,” Yagudin paced around Eteri, rubbing at his neck.

The two white and gold doors behind the king were thrown open and Yuzuru dashed in with Alina hot on his heels. “Right here!” he shouted as he hurried to take his place in line. “Sorry Papa,” he half mumbled as he ran past the king and duchess. Just as he reached his space between Evgenia and Shoma, he slipped over, landing on his back. The other two helped him up and he bowed quickly to Eteri. “It’s nice to see you, Your Grace.”

“Thank you Yuzuru,” Eteri said dryly, eyes scanning his form, “tell me this: are you often late?”

“I-I… I guess…” Yuzuru mumbled as Daniil stuck his tongue out at Rika behind Eteri’s back. “I-I… Um… W-well yes…” He chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck, “but I’m working on it!”

“Well, you called me not a moment too soon.” Eteri said to Yagudin, shaking her head slightly. “Your boys and girls are dreadfully,” she chuckled slightly, “unprepared for royal life.”

Mao and Daisuke exchanged a look, as did Jason and Gabrielle, and Evgenia and Yuzuru.

“I’ve asked Duchess Eteri to take charge of your upbringing,” Yagudin explained. Yuzuru blinked in shock for a moment.

“But Papa,” he tried, stepping forwards, “we—”

“No protest please.” The king cut his son off. “One day, you’re going to be responsible for… running the kingdom.” Rika lowered her book in shock to listen, and she and Mao exchanged a look of confusion, “You need to be proper princes and princesses. Duchess Eteri will teach you that and prepare you for the future.”

“And it looks like I’ve got my work cut out for me,” she sighed dramatically, shoulder sagging slightly.

Yuzuru and Evgenia exchanged another look, both frowning. Yuzuru opened his mouth to make a comment to his father, but a firm look from Daisuke made him reconsider it. The king then dismissed them to help Eteri get settled in.

* * *

 

Outside, in the corridor, Alina walked along slowly, purring softly as she darted around the potted plants. Pausing, she sniffed at the air, eyes narrowing a little before she took another step. From above, the grey monkey jumped down.

“Boo!”

Alina jumped back with a small meow of shock as the monkey smirked at her.

“Oh, how cute. A little scaredy cat.”

“Are you kidding?” Alina glared at the monkey. “I come from a long line of ferocious tigers from the deepest jungles of India!” She bared her claws at him. “See?”

“Yeah right,” the monkey scoffed. “You’re about as ferocious as a flea!” He chased her down the hallway, taunting Alina until she rushed up to the children’s room for refuge.

* * *

 

Back in the main room, the princes and princesses milled about, chatting idly amongst themselves, when the doors were thrown open and Eteri walked in. Instead of the overly sweet smile she’d had before, instead she was glaring at the group.

“Line up.” She said icily, and the twelve siblings fell into their age order line. Eteri cleared her throat. “Things are going to be a bit different now. Starting with your attire.”

To all the siblings’ horror, she held up a grey dress as well as a grey shirt and trousers to match. She handed them out to each of them and rushed them off to get changed. Before long, the group were all looking down at themselves sadly as their colours and individuality were gone.

“Fans up.” Eteri said, holding her own fan up. “Boys, you should learn this too so you can understand what ladies are trying to say through their fans.”

They all opened them up, except Evgenia got hers stuck. Swearing colourfully under her breath, Eteri turned to glare at her.

“Mao, look alive!”

Mao and Evgenia both looked up in confusion before they exchanged a glance across the circle.

“I’m Evgenia?” Evgenia pointed out in confusion, and Eteri rolled her eyes.

“Whatever. Now,” she held up her fan to her nose, “flutter them like this. Coy. Feminine.”

The children all mirrored her actions as best as she could, except Rika was using the fan much too enthusiastically. Eteri wrinkled her nose at her.

“Jun Hwan! You’re creating a tornado!”

Rika blinked at her, frowning in confusion. “I’m Rika?”

“And I’m getting impatient! Try again! Just above your noses.”

Rika did try again, fanning much less enthusiastically. Eteri nodded.

“Good. That’s a start at least. We’ve made some sort of progress today I suppose. Off. Now. Don’t disturb us until dinner.” Eteri dismissed the group, waving them off. The group silently and simultaneously headed up to their room together.

In the sanctity of their room, the siblings chatted away lightly, just like they normally did. Deniss tended to his bugs, as Gabrielle and Jason sat down on their beds to discuss which sports they were going to work on next. Evgenia and Yuzuru stood by their balcony door together in a comfortable silence, and Daisuke, Mao, and Rika were chatting lightly together as the last was selecting a new book to read from her chest. No one noticed the doors to their room opening as Eteri and Sergei both headed in.

“Aww, look.” Eteri said mockingly. Mao, from near the centre of the room, gasped and rushed over to stand by her bed and Daisuke. Deniss, also in the middle of the room, ran to hide behind his pale blue bed too. “Sergei, remove this mess.”

The footman removed the vase of red roses resting on the table in the room, and he placed a golden wind up clock down in its place. The siblings all exchanged a look as Eteri and Sergei left again.

“Why?” Mao asked Daisuke very quietly.

“I think you know why,” Daisuke replied just as quietly, glancing over at Yuzuru and Evgenia by the balcony, “and I think he’s worked out why too.”

* * *

 

After dinner with their father, the group headed up to their room to prepare for bed. Daisuke opened the door and gasped, blocking the room from the others.

“Dai?” Mao asked, pushing past him before she too froze. “What the—”

“What’s going on?” Rika asked, looking over Mao’s shoulder. “What… Where did all my books go?”

The normally colourful room with the vibrant bedspreads and pillows had all been replaced with matching grey covers. They no longer sat in a circle around the edge of the room; they were in two solid rows. Rika’s stack of books next to her bed had vanished, Gabrielle and Jason’s sports equipment had gone too, and Deniss’ bugs were nowhere to be seen. The siblings spilled into the room slowly, looking around and under their beds in shock and confusion as they stared to get ready for bed.

“I can’t believe this,” Daisuke mumbled, shaking his head at Mao and Rika as they stood by their now dull beds together.

“I know,” Mao said gently, rubbing her two siblings’ arms.

“It’s not fair,” Gabrielle complained to Jason and Evgenia on her bed, “our things were fine right where they were.”

“These bedspreads are awful,” Shoma complained to Kazuki who nodded in agreement.

“I miss all our colours.” His twin added.

The golden clock chimed and all the children looked up in panic.

“It’s eight o’clock!” Yuzuru closed up the book he’d been reading to the trio on Koshi’s bed. “Hurry!”

Deniss jumped up into his own bed, but Jun struggled height wise to get into his. Daisuke, Mao, and Rika didn’t notice as they climbed into their own. The other siblings all got themselves sorted out fine, however Yuzuru noticed Jun just as he was about to get into his own bed. With a quick glance at the door, he rushed over and helped to tuck his younger sibling in.

“There you go Junnie,” he said softly, giving him a light kiss on the forehead before he dashed back across the room to his own bed. Halfway there, the doors to their room creaked open and he froze on the spot.

“Yuzuru,” Eteri said, amusement clear in her voice, “late again.” Yuzuru turned around to face her, expression carefully schooled. “You know bedtime is now eight o’clock.” She tapped the clock, clearly showing the time was a minute past the hour.

“S-sorry, Your Grace,” Yuzuru apologised quietly.

“Yes, tardiness is a very unroyal-like habit, don’t you think?” She asked. Yuzuru clamped his mouth firmly shut, cheeks burning. Jun chewed his own lip hard, letting his hair cover his eyes in guilt. “I’ll see you all in the morning, bright and early.” The Duchess said brightly. “No excuses. Happy dreams boys and girls.”

She shut the door firmly behind her and Yuzuru headed to his bed, sighing. Evgenia watched him go, glaring at the door.

“She’s so mean.”

Yuzuru glanced around the room, shaking his head. “If Papa knew what Eteri was really like, he’d change his mind.”

“I don’t know,” Daisuke reasoned with his younger brother, “he did ask her to be in charge you know.”

“Talk to him Yuzuru.” Mao encouraged from across the room. “He’ll listen to you.”

Yuzuru contemplated it in his heart as the group settled down to bed.

* * *

 

“Now, where did we leave off? Bishop to queen three.” Yagudin said, moving the chess piece. Yuzuru hummed from the other side of the table to him.

“You’re making me pay for beating you last time,” the younger chuckled lightly as Alina sat down on the floor next to him, rubbing up against his grey trousers.

“Exactly,” the king said triumphantly.

“I guess you’ll have to wait a little longer,” Yuzuru said with a chuckle, moving his own chess piece. “Rook takes bishop!”

“Oh, how did I miss that?” The king shook his head, sighing. Yuzuru chuckled before his smile dimmed a little.

“Papa, I was wondering something…”

“If I’ll go easy on you? No! Knight to king four.” He moved the white piece firmly, and Yuzuru rubbed the back of his neck.

“It’s um… About Cousin Eteri.”

“Mm,” Yagudin smiled at his son, “Charming, isn’t she?”

“Very, uh, stylish,” Yuzuru complimented before he swallowed down his fear, “but, she’s changing everything. She wants us to do everything her way.”

“As I asked her to.” His father confirmed.

“But we were fine before.”

“Oh, that’s not what I’ve heard Yuzuru,” the prince turned his head away from the door, flinching as Eteri walked in with a tray of tea, “but, perhaps you’re right. There’s so much work to be done, maybe I’m not the right one for the task. What you really need is an entire team you see, Alexei. Tutors for protocol, diction, language, etiquette, style…” She turned to her cousin; a saddened look painted on. “You know, it’s exhausting just to think about it.” She raised a hand to her forehead, sighing. “I-I should go, yes, that would be for the best.”

“No! Eteri, you mustn’t!” Yagudin said firmly, standing up from the game of chess to comfort his cousin. “My children need you. I can’t embarrass them in front of the kingdom mby bringing in endless groups of tutors. There’s enough talk already.”

“Well,” Eteri smiled at him slightly, “if you really think I can be of service…”

“It’s settled then?” Yagudin asked. Yuzuru gasped in horror, standing up and rushing over to the pair.

“B-But Papa! I—”

Yagudin held up a hand to his son. “You must listen to the Duchess. She knows what’s best for you. I don’t want to hear any more on the subject.”

Yuzuru looked at the floor and nodded. “Yes Papa,” he mumbled before he headed out of the room, Alina following him.

Yagudin sighed, watching him go with a frown as Eteri made two cups of tea behind him.

“I hate to see him upset.”

“Children are so emotional. What they need is proper guidance. Here, Cousin, try this tea. Smooth and refreshing.” She handed him a cup and picked up her own.

“Thank you Eteri,” he smiled before he drank from it. She held up her own cup to make a small toast.

“To your health,” she said, smirking lightly before it was masked by the cup.

* * *

 

“He won’t listen,” Yuzuru mumbled sadly, hugging is knees to his chest as he sat on his bed. Deniss, Koshi, and Jun were perched on the other end, and their siblings stood around them, frowning too. “He thinks Eteri’s helping us.”

“This can’t go on forever, can it?” Mao asked, voicing everyone’s thoughts.

“At least tomorrow will be a good day,” Daisuke said gently, rubbing Jun’s back and shoulders gently.

“Will we have cake?” Jun asked.

“Presents?” Koshi added.

“A party?” Deniss asked.

“It’s your birthday, isn’t it?” Yuzuru replied, and the trio chuckled.

Daisuke scooped up Deniss and Koshi in his arms, carrying them to their beds even though they were perfectly old enough to walk. Mao scooped Jun up too and the oldest two siblings tucked the triplets in.

“Goodnight,” Daisuke said softly as he and Mao climbed into their own beds.

“Night Daisuke!” the group said before, one by one, they all fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dawn broke over the kingdom, and nine of the princes and princesses were awake, setting out three chairs in a circle at the centre of their room, as well as gathering baskets of rose petals. Two picked up a flute and a harp before the group got together around the beds with the three sleeping princes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I'm back! Here's the next chapter of this au. This chapter can also be turned into a drinking/exercise game where you do something every time the word "golden" appears because I was clearly lacking creativity in my adjectives. Other than the repetitive adjectives, please enjoy this chapter. No idea when the next will be out though, sorry! Big thank yous to everyone who has been so supportive as well xx

Dawn broke over the kingdom, and nine of the princes and princesses were awake, setting out three chairs in a circle at the centre of their room, as well as gathering baskets of rose petals. Two picked up a flute and a harp before the group got together around the beds with the three sleeping princes. Daisuke smiled at his siblings before he started singing softly.

“ _Today it is your birthday and we sing to let you know,”_ the three youngest princes sat up and grinned brightly, _“that you will be kings for the day. Whatever you say goes!”_

The trio chuckled, climbing out of bed to run up and hug their siblings tightly. Daisuke rubbed Jun’s back lightly. “Happy birthday boys!”

The triplets rushed over to the chairs in the centre of the room and settled down with bright smiles as their siblings picked up the baskets of petals. Daisuke, on the flute, and Evgenia, on the harp, started playing a merry tune for the others. The remaining seven princes and princesses danced around the triplets, singing along.

_“We spin for you dear Deniss and chasse for you Koshi. We pirouette for Junnie and we bow before the kings.”_ The group sang, scattering the petals on the trio.

Alina shook a petal off her nose, bobbing her fluffy head along to the music by the window into the room from the corridor. Behind her, Daniil ran off down the hallway after looking in at the princes and princesses.

Yuzuru joined Daisuke and Evgenia with a tambourine, tapping it in time with their playing, as the other six older siblings paired up to create an archway for the triplets to go under: Mao with Rika, Jason with Gabrielle, and Shoma with Kazuki. They kept singing as the triplets danced happily around them and through the archway.

_“We sing because we love you and we sing to let you know, that you will be kings for the day—”_

The doors were thrown open and the six forming the archway gasped, flinching back. The triplets rushed over to Daisuke, half hiding behind his legs, as he, Evgenia, and Yuzuru lowered their instruments. Eteri walked in, glaring at each of them.

“You’re late! Breakfast was meant to be starting ten minutes ago.”

“Y-Your Grace!” Yuzuru smiled nervously at her, “we were just celebrating a special birthday, and—”

“That’s no excuse.” Eteri cut in firmly. “Until you learn etiquette, the celebrations will wait.”

“We were just dancing!” Yuzuru defended, blood rising to his cheeks slightly. “Mother made it a family tradition.”

Eteri fixed him with a level stare. “Well, sadly, your mummy isn’t here anymore, is she? And I am in charge of your upbringing.” Daisuke, Mao, and Rika exchanged a look across the room. “So dancing is forbidden, strictly forbidden, and please don’t sing. That’s out too.”

“But it’s our birthday,” Jun said very softly from behind Daisuke’s leg. The older sibling put an arm around his shoulders gently as Eteri fixed him with a glare too.

“A prince does not talk back. No dancing until you know how to act like royalty.”

* * *

 

“W-where’s Papa?” Deniss asked from on his bed, Koshi and Jun Hwan sitting down next to him on it. “He’s never forgotten our birthday.”

“We still have a present for you,” Daisuke said gently, handing a book to Deniss and Koshi, holding his own book too.

“When we turned five, Mother gave each of us a copy of her favourite story,” Yuzuru supplied, giving Jun his book too and a gentle pat on the head.

“She had one made for each child,” Daisuke held up his own book, showing his younger brothers.

“The Dancing Princess,” Jun read aloud, and Yuzuru and Daisuke exchanged a smile.

“And so, the princess danced on each of the special stones.” Yuzuru read, sitting down on Deniss’ bed with the three around him, looking at the pictures over his shoulders. The rest of his siblings stood around the bed and sat on Koshi’s to listen as well. “Then, on the twelfth one, she twirled three times, and a secret door opened.”

“Where did it go?” Koshi asked, trying to turn the page over to read ahead.

Yuzuru couldn’t help but smile as he turned over the page and kept reading. “She walked through a glowing light into a magic land, with trees of silver and gold, and flowers made of jewels.” He turned over the next page and continued. “Across the lake was a golden pavilion. The princess danced and danced to her heart’s content.” He sighed lightly as he continued, smile slipping a little “She wanted to stay forever, but that was not to be. The magic land vanished after the third night. The princess was heartbroken, until she realised that she’d brought some magic back with her, and it was hers to keep forever.”

Yuzuru closed up the book and the older siblings turned away from their beds. Jun slid off Deniss’ bed and picked up his book from it as the other two triplets shuffled up closer to Yuzuru.

“What kind of magic?”

“How did she do it?”

“It doesn’t say,” Yuzuru said with a light shrug, checking the back page of the book again.

“Ouch!” The trio on Deniss’ bed turned to see Jun on the floor, book halfway across the room. Yuzuru handed Deniss his book back before he slid off the bed and offered Jun a hand up. As his younger brother brushed himself down, Yuzuru went to pick up the book and froze.

The white lily on the front of Jun’s book matched the white lily on the stone it had stopped on. Yuzuru looked between them, brow furrowing slightly as he thought.

“Koshi, please let me see your book.”

The younger boy gave Yuzuru his book. The daisy on the front of it matched the daisy on the stone with a flower near to Jun’s. Yuzuru, Jun, and Koshi all exchanged a look before the oldest one stood up.

“Guys, quick, see if you can match the flower on your book to a flower on a stone.”

The siblings all dashed around, picking up their books and looking at the stone circle at the centre of the room.

“I found a match,” Daisuke said softly.

“Me too.”

“Me too!”

“Here’s mine!”

“What does it mean?” Jason asked softly, looking at the siblings scattered around the stones. Yuzuru hovered by the flower with no one else, assuming it was his.

“I have a feeling…” Yuzuru rummaged through his chest and pulled on his dancing shoes. The other siblings all followed suit before they returned to their flowers and stones. “The story says the princess danced from stone to stone.”

Yuzuru danced on his own stone first, then to Shoma’s, Kazuki’s, and stopped with a frown when nothing happened. He stepped off the circle, chewing his lip with his brow furrowed.

“Maybe a different order?” Daisuke suggested, and Yuzuru’s eyes lit up.

“Of course! Oldest to youngest! Where’s yours Daisuke?”

Daisuke’s face lit up slightly too and he pointed at the stone with the purple geranium on it. Yuzuru jumped onto it enthusiastically, dancing, and a circle of glowing white light surrounded the stone.

“W-what the…” Daisuke breathed out, and Yuzuru could barely contain his laughter.

“Mao?”

His sister pointed to the stone with the red larkspur on it and, when Yuzuru danced on it, a circle of glowing white light surrounded the stone too.

“Go on,” Daisuke urged Yuzuru, and the younger smiled.

“Rika,” he danced onto the stone with the blue bellflower on it, lighting that one too. “Jason,” he then went to the sunflower stone. “Gabrielle,” he landed lightly on the stone with the honeysuckle on it. “Evgenia,” her stone had a camellia on it, and the white light surrounded it too when he danced on it. “Me,” he smiled, dancing on his own stone with a pink rose on it to surround it with light too. “Shoma,” his stone had narcissus on it, and it lit up too. “Kazuki,” Shoma’s twin’s stone had a lily of the valley on it, and Yuzuru danced there too. “Deniss,” Yuzuru danced on the next stone with the jonquil on it, before he moved on. “Koshi,” he danced on the stone with the daisy before he jumped onto the last one. “And, Junnie!”

He jumped off the last stone and frowned. The others had all lit up, but the stone with the white lily wasn’t surrounded by the white light that the others were. Jun looked up at him, wide eyed.

“Why didn’t mine work Yuzu?”

Yuzuru thought for a second before he nodded. “I forgot something! On the last stone, the twelfth stone, the princess turned three times.” He spun around on the stone, and, after three turns, a circle of white light surrounded the final stone too.

Yuzuru stepped off the circle, standing next to Jun, and the twelve siblings all collectively gasped. A white light from the centre of the larger circle broke through and slowly expanded; the stones dissolved to reveal a set of stairs with the same designs as the stones with flowers on them with a golden handrail. Yuzuru gasped, touching the handrail as soon as it appeared, before he leaned in to look down the stairs into the hole.

“Who’s coming with me?” He asked with a light chuckle before he started down the stairs.

Daisuke and Mao exchanged smiles before they followed Yuzuru. Jason and Gabrielle were soon to head down after, followed by Rika and Evgenia. Shoma and Kazuki followed their older siblings down, and the triplets rushed down too with Alina with them. Once the triplets had stepped in, the stone circle reappeared above them, leaving the princes’ and princesses’ bedroom empty.

The stairs led down to the entry way of a golden veranda that then led out onto a boat platform. A golden boat sat in the water, bobbing lightly with the gentle movement of the waves. Yuzuru looked over the balcony on the edge of the platform, looking out over the lake. Not far away from them was a golden pavilion on another island.

“Amazing…” He whispered to himself, pinching his arm to check it was real.

“Pinch me,” Daisuke said to Mao as they walked from the stairs together, admiring the golden architecture and decorations, “I’m dreaming.”

“Then I’m having the same dream,” Mao replied, looking at the waterfall and flowers.

“What do you think that is?” Deniss asked quietly, looking out over the balcony by Yuzuru to the pavilion.

“Let’s find out, yeah?” Yuzuru said with a smile as the group of princes and princesses headed down to the boat.

The siblings all climbed in and, when they were all safely settled in, the boat started to move towards the other island. Jason reached out of the boat and brushed his fingers against one of the flowers as they floated past them.

“The trees are gold and silver.”

“It’s just like in the story,” Gabby said, admiring them too.

“So pretty!” Evgenia gushed.

“Look at all the flowers,” Koshi said, and his triplet brothers nodded too.

The boat pulled to a stop by a platform next to a path that led directly into the golden pavilion itself. All the siblings stepped out, heading down the steps into the grassy pavilion. At the centre of it, there was a circle of stones with the same flowers in the same order as the ones in the children’s bedroom.

“It’s just like Mother’s dance pavilion,” Daisuke breathed out, echoing everyone’s thoughts.

“Ahh,” Yuzuru sighed, “I wish we had some music to dance to.”

Almost as soon as Yuzuru finished speaking, several golden flowers opened, and golden sparkles diffused through the pavilion. From the golden walls, several floating musical instruments appeared and started to play music for the group.

“Did you all see that?” Yuzuru asked in awe. Daisuke and Mao nodded in response; the others were too struck to move. “Come on Junnie, dance with me!”

The pair started dancing, with Jun copying his older brother’s moves, and Koshi then joined them. Soon the siblings split into groups of three to dance together to the music: Daisuke, Mao, and Rika; Gabrielle, Jason, and Evgenia; Shoma, Kazuki, and Deniss; and Yuzuru, Koshi, and Jun. They danced around the grassy areas together, forming triangles as they all danced in the shoes Javier had made for them. Yuzuru sighed happily, losing himself in the dance, and he enjoyed it with his siblings.

“Uh!” Yuzuru looked over to see Jun on the floor again. The younger rolled over, showing a bleeding graze on his leg. “Something like this always happens…” Jun mumbled.

“But you were dancing beautifully,” Yuzuru reassured him, offering him a hand. “Come on, let’s wash it off. Koshi, are you alright for a second?”

“Yep! I’m fine Yuzu!”

Yuzuru took Jun over to the edge of the water and dipped his handkerchief into one of the fountains by the lake. Jun sat patiently next to it, trouser rolled up to show the graze, and Yuzuru gently cleaned it off. Jun’s leg was surrounded by silver and gold sparkles, and the graze instantly healed before their eyes.

“H-how did it…?” Jun asked softly, looking up at Yuzuru.

“I don’t know,” the older said honestly.

Jun giggled and scooped up a handful of the fountain water. “I could use this all the time.”

* * *

 

Hours later, but to the royals it felt like only minutes, another piece of music was playing. The triplets were asleep against each other, curled up on the stairs of the golden pavilion, as the older siblings danced around again in groups of three. Yuzuru, this time, danced with Daisuke and Rika. Mao danced with the twins, and the other group remained the same. As each dancer hit their final pose, Yuzuru glanced down at his dance shoes.

“Woah, I actually wore out my shoes!”

“Me too!” Rika said from beside him, chuckling slightly.

“It’s a sign, you know,” Daisuke said, approaching them both.

“Of what?” Yuzuru asked, eyebrows raised.

“That we’ve danced enough for one night,” Daisuke said, scooping up the sleeping Deniss. Mao and Yuzuru scooped up Koshi and Jun respectively. “We’d better go home before Eteri finds out we’re gone.”

“Oh, I hate to leave,” Yuzuru sighed, rubbing his younger brother’s back. “I could dance forever, and ever and ever.”

* * *

 

The group headed back over the lake in the golden boat, with Alina rushing around at the front mewing quietly. Yuzuru lightly bounced Jun against his shoulder, and he, Daisuke, and Mao all tucked the triplets into bed. With yawns, their eyes fluttered open as they were all tucked in.

“Did you like your birthday after all?” Daisuke asked Deniss, who nodded and hugged his older brother tightly.

Mao gave Koshi a light kiss on the crown of his head as she finished tucking him in and they both shared a smile. Yuzuru tucked Jun in and moved some of the hair out of his eyes carefully.

“Thank you, Yuzu,” Jun said softly, settling down into bed.

With a chuckle, Yuzuru took off his dance shoes for him where he’d left them on. Yuzuru placed them on the chest at the end of Jun’s bed before he took his own off. As the golden clock showed five in the morning, Yuzuru slipped into his own bed, placing his own dancing shoes on the chest by his bed too.

“Night everyone,” he said softly, climbing into bed. Alina jumped up and curled up by the prince’s feet, purring. “And goodnight to you too, Princess Alina.”

With a smile on his face and a satisfied feeling in his heart, Yuzuru feel asleep almost as soon as his head touched the pillow.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Good morning ladies and gentlemen!”
> 
> Yuzuru’s flew open and he raised his head from the table, sitting upright. Around him, at the breakfast table, his siblings all did the same, yawning and stretching. Echoes of “morning” and “good morning” were tossed around as Eteri walked past the table, glaring at all the siblings.
> 
> “Oh, wide awake I see,” she said coldly, eyes narrowing at them all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again everyone! New chapter here for you, and it's got everything! Family fluff! Eteri causing angst! Javi's back! Dancing! Bits focusing on Alina! I really hope you all like it
> 
> This chapter is dedicated to Gabrielle Daleman and her awful awful injury. Please rest up and get better Gabby; we love you!!!
> 
> With all that said and done, please enjoy and thank you all for reading xx

 “Good morning ladies and gentlemen!”

Yuzuru’s flew open and he raised his head from the table, sitting upright. Around him, at the breakfast table, his siblings all did the same, yawning and stretching. Echoes of “morning” and “good morning” were tossed around as Eteri walked past the table, glaring at all the siblings.

“Oh, wide awake I see,” she said coldly, eyes narrowing at them all.

“We’re fine,” Mao said calmly, smiling gently at her, “thank you.”

As soon as she’d finished talking, Shoma, who had been leaning on his arm next to Yuzuru, fell back asleep, falling face first into his bowl of porridge. Kazuki poked his twin lightly, trying to stifle his own yawn, as Eteri wrinkled her nose at the twins. She shot Mao a glare, shaking her head.

“Someone was up way past their bedtime,” she sneered before she waved her hand at her footman, “Sergei, wake them up!”

The footman, after adjusting his wig, picked up the king’s empty chair at the head of the table and slammed it down, scarring the siblings all awake. Rika sat bolt upright from where she’d been asleep on her book, Evgenia nearly fell out of her chair, the triplets jumped up in fright, and Shoma sat up too, porridge dripping off his cheek.

“That’s better.” Eteri said coldly. “So, what exactly were you doing last night?”

The siblings all exchanged worried glances across the table as the tension in the room began to grow. Just as it reached the tipping point, the doors to the room opened and the servant bowed to the people in the room.

“A visitor for the Duchess.”

Eteri frowned at the servant, eyes narrowing. “Yes?”

“A mister Fabian is here to see you?”

Eteri’s eyebrows raised and she nodded, heading towards the doorway. “Yes, yes, I was expecting him.” She paused in the doorway, glaring at the table of royals. “I want answers when I return.”

She flounced out of the room and the siblings exchanged looks across the table. Yuzuru raised an eyebrow at Daisuke with a frown. “She’s in a hurry.”

The servant cleared his throat, getting their attention again. “And the king requests his children go and visit him in his quarters.”

Daisuke and Mao exchanged a look, and the siblings all started chatting and smiling. Forgetting their breakfasts, the children all rushed away from the table down the corridor to their father’s room. Daisuke stopped the triplets from charging in; he stood between them and the door and knocked on it lightly.

“Papa?” he asked softly, cracking the door open.

“Well,” the king said from his bed, chuckling slightly, “look who’s here. The wild bunch.”

“Are you sick?” Rika asked from behind Daisuke, looking over her big brother’s shoulder at her father.

“No no,” he waved them all in, and the siblings fell into a neat semi-circle around his bed. “I’m just tired. I didn’t really feel up to breakfast this morning.”

“Papa, Papa, Papa,” Deniss grinned, and Jason helped him to climb up onto their father’s bed, “you won’t believe what happened last night!”

“Last night?” The king shook his head as Gabrielle and Evgenia helped the other two triplets up onto the bed too. “Don’t remind me about last night! We were supposed to celebrate your birthday, and I feel asleep. Inexcusable! Is it too late to give you your presents?”

“No!” The triplets said brightly before they all burst into giggles.

As the king reached for their presents, Yuzuru edged slightly closer to the window, frowning. Outside, on the doorstep of the palace, Eteri was chatting to a short man with a beard and a blue coat. She handed him something, but, from Yuzuru’s viewpoint, he couldn’t properly tell what it was. He chewed on his lip lightly, eyes narrowing at the pair.

“Oooh, they’re so pretty!” Koshi said, holding up his crystal bracelet, admiring it as the other two triplets profusely thanked their father.

“Am I forgiven?” the old king asked, and the trio giggled.

“Yes Papa!” Jun said brightly, and the other siblings couldn’t help but smile as the trio crawled forwards to give their father a hug.

* * *

 

In the children’s room, Daniil the monkey was snooping around, looking under Daisuke and Mao’s beds. Finding nothing other than their dancing shoes, he bounced over to Mao’s chest and opened it, reaching in. He pulled out a silver music box and shook it.

“Pretty,” he mused, opening it to hear the delicate tune. The monkey carelessly tossed it over his shoulder and the delicate box broke to several pieces, spilling the jewellery inside. “Not anymore!”

Alina, from the doorway, hissed at him as he approached Rika’s chest. He opened it up and pulled out a thick, hardback book. With a cursory glance at the cover, he tossed it over his shoulder.

“Pretentious swill!” He hissed before he jumped up onto Gabrielle’s bed, bouncing on it for a moment. “Too soft.” He then jumped over onto Evgenia’s and tried bouncing on there too. “Too hard!” With a dash across the room onto Yuzuru’s bed, he settled down with a grin. “Just right!”

As Daniil lay back on the prince’s bed, Alina climbed up onto it and made to pounce at him. Just as she jumped at him, he climbed behind Yuzuru’s headboard so that the poor cat ran straight into it, hissing.

“Aww, the tiger has a boo boo,” the monkey sneered down at her. Alina shook herself off and glared at him, ready to pounce again.

“Who said that you could come in here Daniil?”

“Let me think,” the monkey mused, scratching his head, “who was it? Oh yeah, me! Got a problem with that?” He jumped over her onto the chest at the end of Yuzuru’s bed. With a raised eyebrow, Daniil snatched up the prince’s dance shoes. “What’s going on here?”

“Clear out Daniil!” Alina snapped, eyes narrowing at him.

The monkey narrowed his eyes at her, holding the shoes closer to him. “Make me.”

Alina ran at him, but the monkey opened the chest up and jumped off it, leading to the poor kitten falling straight in. She pulled her head up so that she could see him, glaring at him sharply as her ears flattened against her head.

“Those shoes don’t belong to you!”

“Or you!” The monkey snapped back before he ran out of the children’s room, leaving Alina to pull herself out of the chest.

* * *

 

In the throne room, Eteri smirked as she circled the two empty thrones in the throne room, brushing her fingers lightly over the one that even the king didn’t use. She touched the velvet back of the seat, ran her fingers lightly along the golden edge of the arm rest. Eteri admired the throne, smirking, when Daniil came face to face with her, handing from the ceiling. As Eteri gasped, the monkey dropped into the throne in front of her.

“What on earth do you think you’re doing?” She hissed, and the monkey handed her Yuzuru’s dancing shoes. “The prince’s dancing shoes?” She frowned, taking them before she started studying them. “Worn through…” Her eyes widened in panic. “The spoiled brats have been out dancing, Daniil. Do you know what this means, do you?”

Daniil nodded enthusiastically before he stopped and thought for a moment. He then shook his head and the Duchess rolled her eyes at him.

“Princes and princesses! They’re all out dancing with princes and princesses! Do you know what that means?”

Daniil scratched the back of his head and Eteri rolled her eyes again. “No you don’t, of course you don’t, you’re still a monkey. Marriage is what it means! If princes and princesses fall for these pampered pretties... My plans are ruined Daniil.”

As Eteri started wallowing in self-pity, faint choral music from down the hall came through the walls, reaching her and Daniil. Eteri’s eyes hardened slightly.

“What’s that?” She hissed, frown deepening as it only got louder. “What are they up to?”

* * *

 

In the king’s room, the twelve princes and princesses stood around the bed, still in their semi-circle, and they were singing together in six-part harmony for him. The king lay back with his eyes closed, smiling contentedly as his children sang for him. After reaching a perfect cadence, ready to start the second subject of the music, the doors flew open and the group all gasped collectively, stopping the singing.

“Come in Eteri!” Yagudin said with a gentle smile as his children parted to allow her a way through.

“O-oh! So much commotion!” Eteri said with a light laugh as she pushed a tea tray into the room. “I thought you were unwell?”

“I am, but I love when they sing for me.”

Eteri pushed the tray to next to Yuzuru before she walked closer to her cousin, face falling into a frown of concern. “Look how pale you are dear cousin,” she sighed before she turned to the princes and princesses, waving them away. “That’s enough for now children. Out, out please, please out!”

“But Papa,” Evgenia protested, ignoring Daisuke’s insistent tugs at her hand to try and guide her out of the room.

“Eteri’s right, sweetheart. I’m not feeling so well.”

“Some tea will help,” Eteri said with a smile, picking up the pot and cup.

Evgenia turned to go sadly, but Yuzuru slipped his hand into hers, stopping her as they both turned back around.

“Papa,” Yuzuru said quickly, “maybe you should call for the doctor?”

Eteri dropped the spoon onto the tray in shock as she glared harshly at Evgenia and Yuzuru. The king, not noticing his cousin’s expression, smiled and nodded at them.

“A good idea Evgenia, Yuzuru.”

* * *

 

“Hmm, eyes cloudy, skin clammy…” The doctor frowned as he examined the king.

“I sound like a fish!” Yagudin exclaimed, and the doctor laughed lightly too.

“Sense of humour intact. That’s always a good sign. Well, Your Majesty, if you continue to rest and take this elixir,” he pulled a bottle out of his bag, “then I believe you will recover shortly.”

Yagudin lay back against his pillows, smiling with his eyes closed. “That’s good news.”

“Allow me doctor,” Eteri stepped closer to her cousin’s bedside with a soft smile, “I’ll take care of everything.”

“A couple of drops daily should do the trick,” the doctor said, handing her the small green bottle. “I’ll be here to check on you again soon, Your Majesty.”

“Thank you,” the king bowed his head to the doctor.

“You rest, cousin.” Eteri said gently after the doctor had left the room. “I’ll make sure he gets out alright.”

Eteri followed the doctor down the hallway and, once he’d turned a corner, she unscrewed the bottle with the elixir in it. With a smirk, she emptied its contents into the soil at the base of one of the potted plants lining the hallway of the castle.

* * *

 Outside, Javier rode on the back of his carriage with Matteo on his shoulder through the gates of the castle. He paused by one of the guards, grinning brightly at him.

“Afternoon!”

“Oh, good afternoon Javier. The princes and princesses are waiting in their mother’s garden for you.”

The cobbler nodded and, shaking the reigns of his horse, they set off towards the late queen’s dance pavilion, set back in the palace gardens. It was tucked around the corner from the front section of garden by hedges and rose covered bushes. As he got nearer to the pavilion, he climbed off the carriage and tucked his brown horse to the side, picking up the crate of shoes for the princes and princesses.

Inside the pavilion, Yuzuru was dancing around the centre in his old dance shoes, the worn ones, that he had picked up from their room before he came outside. Daisuke, Mao, and Rika were gathered together, chatting on one of the benches as Jason, Gabrielle and Evgenia chatted too on the other side of the pavilion. Shoma and Kazuki lay on the grass together, grass stains on their grey clothes be damned, and the triplets all bounced up when they spotted Javier.

“I brought new shoes as you requested,” Javier said, gaining all the royals’ attention as he set the box down, “Were the ones before not to your liking?” he asked, handing Daisuke his new pair of shoes.

“Not at all,” the prince reassured the cobbler, “we just wore them out.”

“We’ve been out dancing,” Yuzuru confessed, pausing next to Javier only long enough to talk to him before he set off dancing again. Their mother’s pavilion had a similar stone pattern as the one in their room and in the golden pavilion, however the flowers weren’t on the stones; they were blank instead. Yuzuru stepped into one of the circles, starting to dance.

“One, two, three, four, five, six,” Yuzuru counted out the steps to the dance as he did it. Javier, watching him, couldn’t hide his smile; Yuzuru was so content and in his element and he lit up the area around him, “and seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven,” Yuzuru spun on the last stone three times, sighing, “and twelve! Oh, what a magical time.”

Javier didn’t realise he’d lost himself in his thoughts, staring at Yuzuru, until he felt a sharp elbow to his side. Rubbing the area, as the other princes and princesses took their shoes from the crate, he looked up to meet Daisuke’s eyes.

“Can you fix them Javier?” the older prince asked as Yuzuru stopped by them, standing between Daisuke and Javier, making it harder for the cobbler to breathe. Javier took Daisuke’s old dance shoes from him and chuckled slightly.

“I-is that gold dust?” he asked, moving the shoes and spotting the shine.

Daisuke and Yuzuru exchanged a look and the younger piped up. “It’s… uh… secret.”

“Oh, of course, I didn’t mean to pry,” Javier defended quickly, holding up his hands. Yuzuru’s eyes widened slightly in fear as he took his own new pair of shoes from the crate.

“O-oh, no, Javi, I didn’t think you were prying, it’s just…” He swallowed, shaking his head from embarrassment as Daisuke smirked knowingly and headed back over to Mao and Rika. “N-never mind…”

Yuzuru sat down on the bench to change into his new shoes so that he could hand Javier his old ones when he spotted Sergei watching the princes and princesses from the balcony. When he was done, Yuzuru tugged on Javier’s arm lightly.

“Javi?” He said in a lowered voice, eyes flicking to Sergei, “may I please ask you a favour?”

The pair walked to the edge of the dance pavilion, further away from the footman to make it harder for him to overhear their conversation, before Yuzuru stopped. He stepped closer to Javier and the cobbler’s heart stopped for a moment as the prince started speaking.

“This morning I saw Duchess Eteri give something to a man… Uh… A Mister Fabian? He was short with a beard and he wore a blue coat.”

Javier frowned, racking his brain to try and think of someone who fit that description for the prince. “I’m afraid I don’t know him, Yuzuru.”

“Um, could you please…. Would you mind… Would you please find out who he is Javi? W-without letting the Duchess know… We don’t trust her.”

Javier nodded, stepping closer to Yuzuru. The prince didn’t flinch or move away as Javier lightly placed his hand on Yuzuru’s waist. “Of course I’ll help you,” Javier said softly.

Yuzuru raised his hands shyly, placing them on Javier’s shoulders and he was blissfully unaware of his siblings watching and praying for them to kiss. The cobbler’s eyes flicked to his lips for the briefest moment and they both slowly leaned in.

A crash from the other side of the pavilion shocked them both and they flinched away from each other. Yuzuru rushed over to Javier’s crate, much to the disappointment of his siblings, and scooped up Alina carefully.

“Alina, please!”

Javier opened the crate and Matteo flew out in a huff, glaring at the royal kitten. “Lock her up and throw away the key.”

Alina hissed at him and Javier glared at the parrot as he landed on his shoulder. “Matteo, calm down.” He turned to Yuzuru, picking up the crate. “I’m sorry, Your Highness,” he spoke with a softer voice before he and Matteo left. “What the hell were you playing at?” he hissed under his breath.

“Me? The cat started it!”

Left alone in the dance pavilion, Yuzuru frowned at Alina in his arms. “Alina…”

She mewed quietly and looked up at him with large eyes that melted his heart. He cuddled her gently, scratching behind the ears as he slowly walked back into the palace, still feeling the ghost of Javier’s fingers on his waist.

* * *

 

“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, excellent!” Eteri counted in the room. “I’ll see you all in the morning, no excuses.” She glared at the rows of beds with the princes and princesses in them. “Goodnight.”

She turned to go, walking towards the door in silence before she glared at the room over her shoulder. “I said goodnight.”

“Goodnight Milady,” the room of princes and princesses chorused. With a smirk, Eteri firmly closed the door behind her before she turned to Sergei.

“I want to know where they go, to whom they speak, and when they sneeze,” she hissed. The footman bowed before he sat down in the chair next to the doorway.

“Of course, Your Grace. My only reward is your happiness, Milady.” The footman said, bowing to the duchess. His wig slipped slightly, revealing his balding head, and the grey monkey by Eteri’s side tried, and failed, to stifle its laughter at him

“Correct Sergei,” Eteri hissed before she walked off down the hallway to her own room to retire. Daniil stick his tongue out at Sergei behind her back before he ran off down the hallway after her, much to the irritation and displeasure of the footman.

“Is she gone?” Evgenia whispered, leaning against the door, “I thought I heard voices.”

Mao listened next to her, frowning slightly. “I don’t hear anything now.”

“Let’s go then,” Daisuke said with a smile, finishing lacing up his shoes. “Yuzuru, if you will.”

Yuzuru nodded and started dancing on the stones, lighting them up as he spun around on them. He opened the magic gateway much faster, and soon the princes and princesses were all rushing down the magical stairs into the land with Alina too. Very soon, the stones were back over the entrance and it was like the royals had just vanished into thin air.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Ahh,” Jason sighed with a smile as they all climbed out of the boat. “A whole night to forget Eteri. And her rules.”
> 
> He looked up and saw the shocked faces of all eleven of his siblings staring back at him.
> 
> “What?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
> 
> “Jason, in all the nineteen years I’ve known you,” Jason chuckled at Gabrielle’s response, “never once have you talked badly about someone before. What happened? Are you feeling alright?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I needed some angst and so this story has another chapter! There's a lot of angst in this chapter, especially at the end. Sorry about that. But it does further the plot.
> 
> Big big thank you to ForeverDoesntExist for putting up with me, and for K1mHeechu1 for cheerleading all my writing. You guys are the best <3 Also, this story is unoffically dedicated to Gabrielle Daleman. Please rest and recover from your injuries. Can't wait to see you next season xx
> 
> Without further ado, enjoy this story xx

“Ahh,” Jason sighed with a smile as they all climbed out of the boat. “A whole night to forget Eteri. And her rules.”

He looked up and saw the shocked faces of all eleven of his siblings staring back at him.

“What?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Jason, in all the nineteen years I’ve known you,” Jason chuckled at Gabrielle’s response, “never once have you talked badly about someone before. What happened? Are you feeling alright?”

“I’m fine,” Jason laughed, giving her a quick hug, “just her rules… Ugh, some of them are so stupid sometimes!”

“It’s nice to hear that even you think that Jason,” Rika added with a smile as they headed into the golden pavilion.

“What should we dance to first?” Mao asked the group.

“We love—” Shoma started.

“Ballet.” Kazuki finished.

“Oooh!” Deniss grinned at that.

“Good idea!” Koshi added.

“Yay, ballet!” Jun agreed.

“I wish we were dressed in dancing clothes,” Yuzuru wished.

The golden flowers opened up and covered the whole group in sparkles. Their long, white nightclothes melted away to reveal colourful dresses for the ladies and colourful shirts with black trousers, like what they used to wear, for the men. The girls’ hair, normally left loose and untied for them to sleep with, was tied up in neat buns for dancing. As the last few sparkles died away, Daisuke cleared his throat.

“We wish we had ballet music.”

 The golden flowers, once again, released the gold and silver sparkles across the area. Instruments emerged to start playing music and the dancers rushed to get into position. They danced around the area together, choreographing the dance as they went. The three eldest moved together in triangular formations, mirrored by the other groups of three by age between the siblings. The dance fitted the music seamlessly; it was like the pavilion knew what steps they wanted to do and wrote the music around them. As Shoma and Kazuki leapt around together, the triplets did turns along the edge of the pavilion. The six oldest the moved into a circular formation, dancing around the decorative stones, as Yuzuru fell into step beside the twins easily, spinning and stepping up into neat, well extended arabesques. Daisuke, Mao, and Rika all did pas de chat with a half turn, finishing in fourth as Yuzuru and Evgenia did pirouettes together. Shoma and Kazuki weaved around their older siblings as Gabrielle finished her chasse, opening her fan up.

“Who am I?” She fluttered her eyelashes and the oldest siblings chuckled.

“The Duchess of Doom,” Evgenia supplied, stopping next to her with her own fan open too.

“You mean the Duchess of Don’t.” Gabrielle cleared her throat before she started impersonating Eteri. “Don’t do this! Don’t do that! Don’t! Don’t! Don’t!”

Yuzuru and Rika giggled before they joined in the dancing again. The oldest seven siblings formed a line, moving in sync with each other and the music with dramatic leaps and releves. The other five siblings formed a second line in front of them, and the twelve siblings danced as a cohesive unit.

* * *

 

Javier hummed to himself, mind wandering slightly as he rode back towards the workshop. As his horse came over the hill, he spotted a short man with a beard and a blue coat atop a white horse. He raised an eyebrow, exchanging a look with Matteo.

“He came a long way to visit Duchess Eteri,” he mused, adjusting the reigns to direct his horse down the same path as the other man’s.

Mr Fabian looked behind him, eyes widening a little as he spotted Javier approaching him quickly, closing the gap between them. He urged his horse on. Javier urged his on too, trying to match them. As the gap started to grow again, Javier jumped from his seat on the cart to the horse’s back. He unbuckled the links to the cart, detaching them so that his horse was free. He abandoned the cart of shoes by the side of the road and rapidly closed the gap between him and the other. At the bridge, Javier cut in front of him, forcing the other to slow down and stop.

Javier panted, fixing the man with a frown. “Mister Fabian?”

“You have me at a disadvantage,” Fabian responded, studying Javier’s face, “you know my name, but I don’t know yours.”

“I’ve been asked to enquire about your business with the Duchess.” Javier kept his voice as level and polite as he could. Matteo landed on his shoulder, looking between the two.

“Ha!” Fabian rolled his eyes, “That’s between me and the Duchess, isn’t it?”

“I wouldn’t want to get my master angry!” Matteo piped up, much to both of the men’s surprise.

“The bird talks?”

“Last time somebody refused my master,” Matteo fluttered from his shoulder to land on the head of Fabian’s horse, “the fool was never heard from again.”

“That’s not true!” Javier protested.

“Oh, you’re right,” Matteo nodded before he turned back to Fabian, pointing a wing at him, “they did find a shoe!” The bird wrapped his wings around himself as if he was folding his arms.

“Please,” Fabian slid off his horse, “I’m just a simple apothecary. I sell herbs. Remedies.”

“What did you sell the Duchess?” Javier asked, sliding off his own horse to walk to over to Fabian.

“Well, I almost didn’t sell her anything.” Fabian rummaged around in one of the saddle bags. “Everybody knows she doesn’t pay her bills. This time, however, she came through.” He rummaged slightly more before he grinned, withdrawing a silver goblet. “It’s small, but it’s silver.” He held it out to the cobbler.

Javier looked at the goblet, tilting his head as he spotted some writing on the side of it. “Queen… Shizuka…” he and Matteo both exchanged a look before Javier cleared his throat, standing up straighter. “So, how much?”

“Oh, that’s a laugh,” Matteo scoffed from on Javier’s shoulder. “What do we have worth a silver goblet?”

“Hm.” Fabian fixed Matteo with a smirk. “Talking bird might do it.”

Matteo swallowed thickly before he chuckled nervously. “J-Javi… Javi… You wouldn’t….”

* * *

 

Javier watched as Fabian led away his horse, sighing as he held the cup close. He glanced at Matteo, frowning slightly.

“What’s wrong Matteo? Nothing to say?”

“Uh… Thanks?”

“Come on,” Javi walked over to the cart, picking up the two attachments to his horse’s saddle. “Let’s go. We have a long walk.”

“Where are we going?” Matteo asked, landing next to the goblet on top of the cart.

“We need to show Prince Yuzuru the goblet.”

“Oh, that’ll be a long walk for you. I hope you made a pair of shoes for yourself.”

Javier rolled his eyes, setting off towards the palace and kingdom. “Don’t make me wish I’d kept the horse instead of you.”

“Never mind,” Matteo sighed, “forget I’m even here.”

Javier shook his head, setting off towards the palace, pulling the cart behind him.

* * *

 

Dawn broke over the kingdom as Eteri and Daniil walked down the corridor towards the princes’ and princesses’ room. Eteri raised an eyebrow at Sergei, who stood from his chair next to the bed and bowed to her.

“Nobody came or left, Milady. I was here all night Your Grace.”

“Wonderful,” Eteri nodded, opening up the door. “Good morning boys and girls, a beautiful day isn’t it?”

The princes and princesses were all in bed, and Daisuke was the only one half awake enough to acknowledge Eteri’s presence. He yawned, rolling over in his bed to face Mao’s bed, away from the door. The other siblings slept soundly. Jun cuddled up to his pillow, hugging it like a teddy. Koshi and Deniss both were on their backs, one hand under the pillow with the other holding up the top of the covers. Shoma and Kazuki were both lying on their stomachs, faces tilted to avoid suffocating themselves. Yuzuru’s left eye was slightly open and his hair was sticking in crazy directions as he slept. Evgenia looked like Sleeping Beauty; she lay on her back, dark hair spilling across the pillows around her, and her hands were clasped over the covers on her stomach. Gabrielle and Jason both were sleeping on their sides, but they had one foot each sticking out from under their duvets. Rika had a book in her arms and she was cuddling it, much like how Jun was cuddling his pillow. Mao was lying on her back too, but her hands weren’t placed as neatly as Evgenia’s; one was next to her head and the other was by her forehead. Daisuke was sleeping on his side, both hands under his pillow, and he faced towards Mao.

“Rise and shine!” Eteri tried again, “We have a busy day ahead of us!”

None of the children even shifted the slightest in their sleep. Daniil hopped onto the side and picked up an empty silver platter as well as Gabrielle’s hairbrush. He banged them together, startling the children awake as they all sat up with gasps in shock. As they scrambled out of their beds, Daniil poked his head under Gabby’s bed and swiped her dance shoes, handing them to Eteri.

“Weren’t these new yesterday?” She asked, studying the worn in soles. Her brown furrowed and she glared at the children in the room coldly. “Line up this instant!”

The tired siblings half stumbled over themselves and each other to fall into the circle around the room. Eteri stood in the middle, glaring at each of them.

“Where were you dancing last night? Answer me Jason!”

“I’m Gabrielle.” She countered and Eteri shoved the shoes at her.

“I don’t care! You were out dancing last night! Where?”

“W-we… Uh… We danced at the pavilion.”

Eteri pulled the shoes back, walking around the circle in silence for a moment. “Well, how did you get there? Mao?”

“I’m Koshiro.” The youngster replied, and Eteri rolled her eyes.

“I. Don’t. Care. Answer me.”

“The magic boat took us!” His little face lit up, and Daisuke couldn’t help but smile at the excitement and pure look of happiness on his younger brother’s face. Eteri, however, did not share the sentiment.

“Please. How did you get out of here without Sergei seeing you?”

“The magic gateway!” Deniss nodded, pointing at the stones behind her back as he tried to remember every detail of the night. Eteri didn’t notice him; instead she walked to the area of the circle nearest to Daisuke and Jun.

“Magic this, magic that, you’re all lying to me.” She stopped, eyes fixing on Jun as a cold smirk slipped onto her face, sending shivers up the spines of the oldest seven siblings. “You’re the runt of this family.” Jun’s soft brown eyes widened in hurt. “Tell me the truth or you’ll all pay.”

“How can you talk to him that way?” Jason snapped at her. Yuzuru stepped forwards too, but Evgenia placed a hand on his arm silently as Jason continued talking. “He’s just a kid! Lay off him!”

“But…” Jun mumbled, fiddling with his hands as he looked at his older siblings, silently asking for help. “But it is the truth…”

“How dare you talk back to me?” Eteri hissed. “You’re no better than common servants and maids.” She stopped again, stifling a laugh. “Maybe if I treat you like servants, you’ll change your minds about lying to me.”

Gabrielle and Rika pulled Jason back into the circle as Eteri continued speaking. “This morning, you will clean the front garden. I want it spotless.”

“But,” Yuzuru couldn’t help himself, “we were supposed to—”

“Tsk tsk, talking back Yuzuru? Now you will all scrub the steps as well.”

Yuzuru’s face fell and he looked at his feet, desperately avoiding looking at his siblings. 

* * *

 

“We can’t even sing to pass the time,” Rika mumbled as they finished raking the leaves into big piles on the front lawn. Daisuke and Jason were loading them into little barrels.

“I don’t understand why Papa—”

“Won’t listen to us.” The younger set twins commented mournfully.

“And how did everything get so awful?” Evgenia mumbled, leaning on her rake next to Yuzuru.

“I don’t know.”

“Well, at least the garden’s done,” Gabrielle said somewhat brightly. “All that’s left is the steps.”

Daisuke and Jason carried most of the barrels between them, and they handed one each to the triplets. Jun tripped over his own feet and dropped the barrel of leaves onto the neat lawn the group had just cleared.

“Oh,” Gabrielle whispered.

Jun’s eyes instantly filled with tears and he bit his lip hard to stop himself crying. “I-I… I-I didn’t mean to…” His voice caught, breaking his siblings’ hearts. “I-I’m sorry…” He ran off out of the front garden.

“Junnie,” Yuzuru called after him, placing his rake away before he rushed after him too. Evgenia, from next to him, didn’t try to fight him or interfere.

Yuzuru paused in the entrance of their mother’s pavilion, chewing his lip. Sitting on one of the benches, trying to make himself as small as possible with his knees pulled up to his chest, was a crying Jun. The child had his face buried in his knees and his shoulders were shaking. Yuzuru sat down next to him and gently placed a hand on his back.

“Want some company?”

“G-guess so,” Jun hiccupped out through a whimper.

“I used to come here too when I was upset,” Yuzuru told his little brother. Jun leaned into his touch, half hugging Yuzuru back.

“Why can’t I be good at something?” He asked quietly after a long silence. “Jason and Gabrielle are good at sports, as are Shoma and Kazuki. Rika’s read every book ever written. Deniss and Koshi know so much about bugs. Evgenia has the most beautiful singing voice. Daisuke’s so kind and he’s good at calming us all down. Mao rides her horses, and you’re the most beautiful dancer Yuzuru.”

The older sibling chuckled and squeezed his younger brother’s shoulder lightly. “I thought you were going to say I’m always late.”

Jun giggled despite his tears. “That too.”

“You probably don’t remember this Junnie, but Mother always told us: big or small, there’s a difference that only you can make.”

Jun looked up at him with wide eyes. As Yuzuru moved a lock of hair off his forehead, a small smile of understanding slowly blossomed across the youngster’s face.

* * *

 

“It’s been a long day,” Yuzuru held Jun’s hand as they walked through the corridors in the palace together, “so, we’ll feel better if we say goodnight to Papa.”

“I-I don’t understand why I’m still sick,” the king asked his cousin as she poured a couple of drops of the elixir into his cup of tea. Eteri handed him the cup, shaking her head.

“Frankly, I’m not surprised. What, with the burdens you carry. Twelve of them if you know what I mean.”

Yuzuru raised a hand to knock on his father’s door when the king’s voice carried through the wood. “Twelve burdens? My children do worry me. I must admit that I-I… I lose sleep over them.”

Yuzuru’s stomach turned and he met Jun’s eyes. Before the child could burst into tears again, Yuzuru scooped him up into his arms and they headed towards their own room sharply.

“But they’re hardly burdens,” Yagudin said to Eteri with almost pleading eyes. “They’re the best part of my life.”

* * *

 

“Ugh,” Shoma flopped onto his bed. “Could this day get any worse?”

“God,” Jason stretched out his back, wincing. “I ache all over.”

The doors to the children’s room opened as Yuzuru came in, carrying a crying Jun in his arms. Daisuke’s heart broke and he headed over to his two brothers, rubbing Jun’s back lightly.

“Did you see Papa?” He asked quietly. Jun let out a small whimper, hiding his face more in Yuzuru’s shirt.

“N-not exactly…” Yuzuru mumbled.

“Tired?” The room of princes and princesses turned to see Eteri in the doorway. “Sore? Frustrated? Now maybe I can hear the truth.”

“We told you the truth.” Rika said firmly.

“That ridiculous story. What else?” Eteri scoffed. “Flowers with diamonds on them?”

“Not all the flowers,” Deniss said bravely, stepping towards Eteri.

Her face was thunder. “Now you’re mocking me. Apparently, you didn’t learn your lesson. Tomorrow you will all clean the stables. As for tonight,” she held up the brass key to their room, “I’m locking you in. Nobody is going dancing; I promise you that!”

“Papa would never lock us in!” Evgenia snapped, standing beside Yuzuru. Daisuke, on his other side, shifted closer to them both, ready to protect them from Eteri.

“Your father is sick,” Eteri spat, and all the siblings exchanged looks of horror, “and who can blame him? Taking care of you with your wild ways. If you really want your father to get better, you’ll leave him alone!”

With a hiss, the Duchess flounced out of the room, locking the door firmly behind her, as Yuzuru carried Jun over to his bed.

“I have failed you again, Your Grace,” Sergei mumbled, “How may I redeem myself?”

“We’ll see, won’t we?” She snapped. “If anybody, _anybody,_ sneaks in or out, alert me at once.”

* * *

 

“I-I never realised Papa was so disappointed in us,” Rika whispered.

“I heard him tell Eteri,” Jun mumbled, smoothing out his pyjamas, “t-that we’re burdens.”

“H-he did?” Daisuke asked softly and sadly.

“That’s terrible,” Mao added, holding Jun’s hand lightly and rubbing it with her thumb.

“Everything’s so wrong here,” Jason mumbled.

Alina spun on her back legs across the floor, stopping on the decorative stones at the centre of the room. Daisuke nodded at her.

“Alina has the right idea. There’s still one place we can go where we won’t disappoint anyone.”

“We’ll give Papa some time—”

“To get better!” Shoma and Kazuki supplied.

“Maybe it’s best if we go,” Daisuke said with a nod to his siblings.

* * *

 

The next morning, dawn broke again over the kingdom. Eteri raised an eyebrow at Sergei, glancing at the locked door. The footman unlocked it and held it open for her.

“Nobody came or left Milady.”

Eteri stepped in and rolled her eyes, shaking her head. “Sergei, get in here.”

The footman ran in and gasped, taking in the twelve empty beds.

“Do you see any royals in here?”

“W-well… um…”

“Neither do I!”

“But I never left the door!”

“Are you telling me that they just vanished into thin air? Find them!” She hissed before she rushed from the room, leaving Sergei staring at the empty beds in confusion and horror.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “The poor man,” Eteri sighed to the doctor, closing the doors behind him, “he’s never been the same since his sweetheart, Shizuka, passed away.”
> 
> “Ah,” the man nodded, placing a little bottle back into his bag. He pushed his glasses back up his nose, shaking his head at her, “a broken heart. I should have realised. In that case, medicine can’t really help him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I've written a lot of another fic lately and not much of this one, so here's the next chapter of this! There's some sibling fluff, angst from Eteri, Javi and Matteo interacting, and Yuzuru and Javi are reunited. This is probably the penultimate chapter, so thank you if you've stuck with the story this far!
> 
> Big thank you to K1mHeechu1 for being the bestest. Please enjoy this chapter xxx

“The poor man,” Eteri sighed to the doctor, closing the doors behind him, “he’s never been the same since his sweetheart, Shizuka, passed away.”

“Ah,” the man nodded, placing a little bottle back into his bag. He pushed his glasses back up his nose, shaking his head at her, “a broken heart. I should have realised. In that case, medicine can’t really help him.”

Eteri looked away from him, biting her lip with feigned expression of overwhelming sadness. “That’s what I was afraid of,” she mumbled. The doctor patted her arm with a gentle smile.

“Don’t give up hope Your Grace. I’ll check in tomorrow to see how he’s doing.”

“Yes,” Eteri nodded, half smiling, “please, please do.”

* * *

 

As evening drew on and the sun began to dip below the horizon, bathing the palace in golden light, Javier final made it to the castle with his cart in tow. He left the shoes at the bottom of the steps and, passing the doctor, he rushed to the door.

“Excuse me sir,” the servant looked up at him with wide, fearful eyes, “may I please speak to Prince Yuzuru?”

The servant glanced around before he gestured to Javier to come closer. “Haven’t you heard?” he hissed to the cobbler. “The princes and princesses are missing.”

“M-missing?!”

“This can’t be good,” Matteo mumbled in his ear.

“I heard Duchess Eteri say that they’ve run awa—” the servant was tugged backwards, out of Javier’s sight, and Sergei then stuck his head around the door. His wig slipped off centre and it took all of Javier’s willpower not to laugh at him.

“You! Cobbler!” Javier took a step backwards, holding up his hands to prove he meant no harm. “We don’t need you today.”

“But, sir, I need to see Prince Yuzuru,” he rushed forwards. “Please, I—"

“I said begone!” Sergei snapped, slamming the door in the cobbler’s face.

Javier stared at the large doors as he heard the lock click too, and he shook his head in disbelief and sadness. With Matteo on his shoulder, the pair turned to leave when light from the dipping sun hit the golden decorations on the edges of the window frame and balcony of the princes’ and princesses’ room fell across Javier’s face. He looked up, blinking once, twice, three times up at the dome shaped room with its balcony. A small smile spread across Javier’s face.

“Tell me you’re going to leave,” Matteo said, watching Javier’s expressions carefully. “Javi! Tell me you’re going to leave.”

“Eventually.” Javier just smirked at the parrot before he looked back up at the dome shaped room.

The cobbler moved the cart to around the side of the building, hiding it from the main doors by leaving it next to the stables where it wouldn’t look very out of place. He then hid with the horses and Matteo, ducking down behind the walls of the stables so that he wouldn’t be seen.

“Are you crazy?” Matteo hissed.

“Maybe I am Matteo. Maybe I am.”

They sat there and waited until the sun had dropped well below the horizon and the stars were out, twinkling above the palace. The moon’s guiding light led Javier from the stables back to the palace and, with some quick thinking and neat climbing skills, he was pushing himself up over the railing, onto the balcony.

“This is risky,” Matteo whined, hovering next to Javier. “Risky!”

The cobbler ignored his parrot and instead looked into the empty room through the floor to ceiling glass doors. Matteo landed on his shoulder, looking in too.

“This is crazy. If you’re caught, you’ll be thrown in the dungeon.”

“If you don’t pipe down,” Javier hissed sharply, “then we’ll both be thrown in the dungeon.”

The cobbler tried the door and, unsurprisingly, it was locked. With a glance around, he took a small rock out of his pocket and threw it hard into the glass, smashing it and creating a hole as the rock skidded to a stop inside the room. Javier then kicked the rest of the glass out of the doorframe before he stepped in, brushing himself off, and looked around the royals’ room.

“Satisfied?” Matteo asked from on Javier’s shoulder, “he isn’t here. Now let’s go.”

The room was disappointingly empty. There was little sign that the princes and princesses had ever lived there; the bedspreads were all plain, there were no objects in the room to even hint that anyone lived there, and the room was suspiciously neat and tidy for it to belong to the chaotic group of princes and princesses that Javier knew. With a shake of his head, he turned to go when he caught sight of something on the floor.

“My shoe polish?” He knelt down by the circle of stones with flowers on them as Matteo fluttered off his shoulder to land on one of the many chests placed around the room next to the beds. “It’s over there, and there!”

“News flash! He walked in his own room Javi.”

“But not everywhere Matteo.” He pointed to the stone with the geranium flowers decorating it as he stood up. “He started here where the polish is thickest. I think.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” the parrot rolled his eyes, shaking his feathery head.

“Ten. Eleven. Twelve. Twelve steps.” Javier frowned before his face lit up in understanding. “Yuzuru’s dance! Of course!”

Matteo tilted his feathery head at the cobbler and Javier just stepped off the stone circle. Positioning himself next to the stone of purple geraniums, he took a deep breath.

“One,” he danced onto the stone, lighting it up.

“W-what did you do?!” Matteo asked, looking between the stone and his master in disbelief.

“Two,” Javier danced onto the stone with larkspur on it, lighting that one up too. “Three,” he looked to the next, dancing onto it to light it up, just as Yuzuru had done himself. “Four! Five”

“My,” Matteo teased, a smirk creeping into his voice. “Weren’t we paying close attention to the prince huh?”

Unknown to them both, as Javier danced on the stones and revealed the magic gateway, Daniil was watching from behind the chest next to Evgenia’s bed.

* * *

 

Shoma and Kazuki danced around the pavilion, holding each other’s hands as they hummed a tune together. Evgenia and Mao exchanged a look with a smile as they sat together on the edge of the golden steps.

“Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a dancing partner?” Evgenia said to her older sister.

“Well, it would, sure, but I’m not sure I really want to dance with Daisuke again. He’s a bit—”

“No, not Daisuke silly!” Evgenia stood up, clearing her throat. “I wish I could dance with a handsome prince!”

As the golden flowers released magical sparkles, all of Evgenia’s brothers, older than Shoma and Kazuki, turned to glare at her. “Hey!” Jason responded indignantly. “We’re handsome!”

“Yeah!” Daisuke narrowed his eyes at Mao too. “And how were you going to finish that sentence Mao? Daisuke’s a bit what?”

“Oh look!” Mao tapped Evgenia lightly on the shoulder, turning her around as the pair ignored the indignant cries from their brothers.

Behind the two ladies, the golden sparkles had fallen onto a gold statue of a prince that stood atop the fountain. He stepped down from his position and walked over to Evgenia. He bowed to her, and received a curtsey back, before he offered her his hand.

“I’d love to!” Her face lit up as she took the statue’s hand. He led her out to the centre of the pavilion that her siblings had cleared.

Mao smiled, head swaying a little as she watched her younger sister twirl and dance in delight. The magic had turned the statue into the perfect dancing partner for her, matching her height and build perfectly. He matched all of movements, guiding her around the pavilion.

“I wish I could dance with a prince too!”

“Mao!” Daisuke protested.

“I wish that too.”

“Jason!” Daisuke whined. “Not you too!”

Two more golden statues appeared, bowing to the prince and princess as they took their hands, leading them to join Evgenia in the dance. The three pairs of dancers matched each other’s’ movements as if they’d worked on a set choreography for years. Daisuke rolled his eyes, unable to hide his smile at seeing his siblings’ happiness.

“Yeah, I still don’t know if those guys are good enough for my siblings,” Daisuke grumbled. Rika elbowed him.

“What’s not to love? They’re tall, handsome, kind, great dancers, and they’d make wonderful listeners.

“Rika, not you too! First Evgenia, then Mao, then you? My baby sisters are all being corrupted!”

* * *

 

Daniil jumped onto the stone with the honeysuckle flower on it, jumping up and down repeatedly in frustration when it didn’t light up. Eteri stepped into the room and wrinkled her nose at him.

“This is what you wanted to show me? I’m aware that the princes and princesses are gone. I also know what their room looks like.”

Daniil jumped onto the stone with the sunflower, the hopeful look on his face dying when that stone didn’t light up either.

“What on earth are you doing?” Eteri shook her head at him in disbelief and confusion.

The grey monkey scratched at his head, trying to work out what the problem was. Was it that it didn’t count as dancing properly? Maybe he was starting from the wrong stone?

“Wasting my time,” Eteri tutted, turning to go. In a desperate attempt to get her to stay, Daniil jumped for a random stone.

The flash of light from behind her shocked Eteri enough to turn around. With a gasp, she saw that the stone with purple geraniums on it was surrounded by a circle of white light. With a smug look at her, Daniil then jumped onto the stone with the larkspur, lighting that one up too. He moved onto the blue bellflower stone and the sunflower stone, lighting up each one as he continued around the circle of stones.

“So there was a method to your madness,” Eteri smirked as she watched Daniil spin three times on the white lily stone before he jumped off. The both watched as the circle opened up to reveal the magic gateway, with the steps decorated in the flowers and the golden handrail. Eteri and Daniil exchanged a look before they too descended into the magical world.

* * *

 

In the pavilion, Mao, Evgenia, and Jason were sitting back on the steps together, laughing as they caught their breaths again after finishing their dances with the golden princes. Daisuke, Gabrielle, and Rika were all dancing with the statues brought to life; each one had adjusted to suit their new partner’s needs. Gabrielle’s twirled hers as Daisuke led the dance with his. Rika’s held her waist carefully, guiding her around the pavilion as they all danced again in neat triangular formations. From beside Daisuke and Mao, Yuzuru hummed as he watched, smiling at his siblings’ joy.

“Prince Yuzuru!” the prince turned, face lighting up as he saw Javier rushing down the stairs towards him. The prince stood up, meeting him halfway.

“Javi? What on earth are you doing here? How did you find us? Not that I’m mad you did!” He blushed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I-I’m just surprised… That’s all…”

“Finding you was a lucky guess,” Javier held up a hand to relax the prince before his face fell into a frown. “You were right not to trust the Duchess. She gave this to the stranger you saw.”

The cobbler handed Yuzuru the silver goblet and the prince’s face fell as he studied the writing on the side of it. The rest of his siblings had stopped their dancing to come and gather with him; Yuzuru exchanged a worried glance with Daisuke.

“Eteri’s been stealing from Mother?” Yuzuru said in barely a whisper, as if saying it louder would confirm the ugly truth he so desperately didn’t want to hear.

Javier nodded, looking down at his feet. His heart froze as Matteo piped up.

“He gave up his horse for that!”

“Matteo!” He hissed at the bird. Yuzuru’s eyes softened.

“You did, Javi? Or, is… is that just the bird talking?”

“Doesn’t matter. It belongs to you, not him.” Javier said firmly, raising a hand to take Yuzuru’s before he stopped himself.

“I-I don’t know what to say…” Yuzuru mumbled. Daisuke wrapped an arm around his younger brother’s shoulders and stepped in.

“We are in your debt, Javi.” The oldest bowed his head to the cobbler. “We owe you so much, at least a horse. Name your price.”

Javier cleared his throat, eyes meeting Yuzuru’s as a pink blush crept up his cheeks. “N-no, it’s okay… I don’t need anything…”

* * *

 

Across the lake from them, in the entry way where the magic boat would have been, Eteri looked out over the water towards the golden pavilion on the separate island. She raised an eyebrow at the glowing area, shaking her head.

“The spoiled brats were telling the truth it seems Daniil.” She held up her opera glasses, trying to see what was going on in the pavilion. “Ugh, this is useless. I wish I could see what’s going on.”

The golden flowers around her opened, showering the opera glasses in the golden sparkles. Eteri gasped as she watched them transform into a telescope crafted from gold and crystals.

“Will wonders never cease,” she mused before she pointed at Daniil. “Get me some of those flowers. Now!”

The monkey tugged at the flowers on the plant as his mistress looked over at the pavilion.

“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight nine, ten eleven twelve. All accounted for. And that cobbler so he won’t come looking for them later.” She lowered the telescope with a grin. “How very convenient. Hurry up Daniil! Opportunity knocks!”

The monkey fell backwards with one of the golden flowers in his mouth. Shaking himself off, he ran after Eteri back up the stairs to the princes’ and princesses’ bedroom.

* * *

 

“Why would Eteri steal Mother’s goblet?” Daisuke asked, eyebrows furrowed.

“And give it to an apothecary?” Mao added.

“We have to go home and tell Papa!” Gabrielle said firmly.

“But, if we leave now,” the group turned to see Rika with the triplets in front of her, “we can never come back.”

“Why not?” Daisuke asked, tilting his head to one side.

“Mother’s story,” she explained, “in it, the princess only visited the land three times before it vanished forever.”

“I-I… I can’t imagine never coming back,” Jason whispered.

“Maybe we could stay just a little longer?” Deniss suggested.

Yuzuru shook his head firmly. “No. We can’t. Eteri may not think we’re proper princes and princesses, but we are princes and princesses after all. We can’t just turn our backs when things get difficult.”

“Yuzuru’s right,” Daisuke nodded, patting his younger brother’s back. “Papa needs us. Come on. We can dance once we’re free of Eteri and Papa is okay.”

The oldest turned and headed towards the boat. The others all followed him when a loud chime echoed through the land, just as Daisuke was about to step into the boat.

“What’s that?” Shoma whispered to Kazuki.

The boat disappeared in a cloud of golden sparkles that dissolved in the air. The siblings all exchanged looks of horror.

“Smash them, smash them all!” Eteri laughed, pointing at Yuzuru’s rose decorated stone. Sergei raised his hammer before he brought it down, shattering it just as he had done to the oldest six siblings’ stones. “That one next!” she pointed to Shoma’s. “And that one! And that one too!”

“It’s all disappearing,” Kazuki responded to his twin as the group looked at their entry point from across the lake. It started to ripple and shimmer, glowing a brighter gold.

“And now the last one!” Eteri cackled, pointing at Jun’s stone, decorated in the white lily. She smirked as Sergei brought the hammer down, shattering that one too, leaving the destroyed stones behind.

The entry point vanished completely and Yuzuru almost felt his legs go from underneath him.

“How will we get back?” Gabrielle whispered to Jason.

“What are we going to do?”

* * *

 

The king coughed weakly as he took the cup of tea from his cousin, sitting in bed. He barely had the strength to sit up properly.

“Eteri,” his sentence was punctuated with coughs and splutters, “My children… Have… Are they coming soon?”

“Haven’t they visited you yet?” Eteri asked in surprise, eyes opened wide. “Oh, I hate to say it Alexei, especially when you’re like this, but your children aren’t the most responsible girls and boys.”

“Oh, I appreciate all that you’re doing for me Eteri,” the king sipped at the drink.

“I only wish I could do more.”

“Well,” the king coughed weakly again, “perhaps you can. Would you ever consider standing in for me? Just… Just until I recover.”

“I would do anything to assist you, Your Majesty,” Eteri said solemnly, taking her cousin’s hand in her own as she sat by his bedside. “You know I would, but who would listen to me? I’m not the queen.”

“I, King Yagudin,” the king dictated from his bed to the servant, who wrote the whole thing out on a scroll, “hereby proclaim Duchess Eteri to be queen, until I can resume my royal duties.”

The Duchess smirked as the servant spread hot wax on the bottom of the rule and handed the king his seal. Alexei placed it into the hot wax, leaving the crest containing a shield surrounded by flowers and vines in the wax as it cooled.

“The royal seal. It is done.”

The servant then hesitantly offered Eteri the crown that had last been worn by Shizuka. “Y-Your… Majesty…”

She placed it on her own head, smirking at her cousin. “You can count on me, dear, dear Alexei. You rest, and I will take care of absolutely everything.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What do you think happened?” Evgenia asked.
> 
> “I can’t believe a place our Mother loved would trap us.” Daisuke reasoned. Yuzuru’s face lit up and, back in the main section of the pavilion, he stood up from where he’d been sitting on the golden steps next to Javier.
> 
> “I wish to know the way out!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here we are. It's the end sadly and I kind of put off writing this because I love this film and didn't really want to end this story. I wanted to keep writing it forever! But here it is, and it's the end. Thank you so much for reading this and being here with me on this writing journey of the story
> 
> I haven't used that many line breaks in this because it switches perspective a lot and it would be mostly line breaks. Sorry if that confuses anyone; I did my best.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading this, and please enjoy this final chapter xxx

“What do you think happened?” Evgenia asked.

“I can’t believe a place our Mother loved would trap us.” Daisuke reasoned. Yuzuru’s face lit up and, back in the main section of the pavilion, he stood up from where he’d been sitting on the golden steps next to Javier.

“I wish to know the way out!”

The golden flowers once again opened, showering the area in their golden sparkles. In the centre of the pavilion was another stone decoration that mirrored the one in the royals’ room. The golden sparkles lit up the purple geranium stone, the larkspur stone, and then the blue bellflower stone.

“We danced our way in,” Shoma said.

“So we can dance our way out! Kazuki nodded.

Yuzuru looked up at Daisuke who nodded to him and gestured to him to go forwards.

“One, two… hm…” none of the stones lit up when Yuzuru danced on them. “It’s not working.”

“Let me try,” Javier said as Yuzuru moved aside and Matteo flew off his shoulder. “One, two… Oh. That’s odd.”

The group stared at the stones, trying to work out what to do with them. Daisuke and Mao exchanged a look of confusion as Yuzuru frowned at the stones, deep in thought.

“What do we do now?” Koshi piped up from between his triplet brothers.

“I don’t know,” Rika answered honestly.

“It just seems so right,” Gabrielle added, frowning too.

“It’s got to be something to do with dancing.” Jason confirmed.

Yuzuru paced around until he got to the purple geraniums. Without thinking about it, he and Javier jumped onto the stone at the same time.

It lit up, glowing white, and both of them stepped off and away from each other in shock. The other siblings all looked up too, gasping in confusion and awe. In silence, the pair walked to the larkspur stone and jumped on that together too. It lit up as well, and Yuzuru looked to his siblings for answers.

“You have to dance together!” Evgenia squealed, clapping her hands with a bright beam on her face. “Oh, Yuzu, that’s so romantic!”

Yuzuru snuck a glance up at Javier’s face before he shyly looked away, focusing instead on his feet and dancing shoes. The cobbler sighed with a smile on his face when a loud squawk shook him out of his head.

“What the hell are you waiting for Javi?” Matteo snapped. “An invitation? Ask him to dance!”

Javier shook himself out of his head and bowed to Yuzuru, offering him a hand. “Your Highness. May I have this dance?”

Yuzuru bowed back, a dark pink blush painted his cheeks and nose as he took hold of Javier’s hand. “Of course.”

The flowers, without the siblings even asking, started to play music with a light violin and flute melody. Javier carefully guided Yuzuru around to the geranium. They danced from stone to stone together, with Javier holding Yuzuru’s waist carefully and Yuzuru resting his free hand on Javier’s shoulder. Although initially they were focused on going from stone to stone, they soon lost themselves in the dance, in the way the other held them like they were the only person in the world, and in their shared, unspoken love. Javier turned Yuzuru three times on the white lily stone before they moved away from the circle and danced freely together around the pavilion. Yuzuru’s siblings watched the pair; Daisuke, Mao, and Rika exchanged a look of minor amusement as Evgenia nearly ripped Jason’s arm off in excitement over the adorableness, and the triplets, especially Jun, bounced on the balls of their feet in happiness for their older brother.

As the pair continued to dance, golden sparkles similar to those from the flowers appeared around their feet. Without the pair even noticing, Yuzuru and Javier both started to rise off the ground as they danced. Daisuke’s face lit up and the oldest three siblings started to dance too. As golden sparkles gathered around their feet too, lifting them as well, the other siblings and Alina all caught on. Yuzuru and Javier couldn’t take their eyes off each other the whole time, even as they rose up, they couldn’t bring themselves to look away from the other. Javier found himself lost in Yuzuru’s nearly black eyes that sparkled in the low golden lighting of the pavilion, and Javier’s eyes were so beautiful Yuzuru would have gone weak at the knees had the other and magic not been supporting him. Soon, the whole group was rising up out of the golden pavilion guided by the gold sparkles.

* * *

 

“Until the King recovers, I am Queen.” Eteri settled herself on the throne that used to belong to Shizuka. Sergei smirked from behind her, and Daniil had claimed Alexei’s, and soon to be Daisuke’s, throne for himself. The Duchess held her head up as she addressed the dozens of new guards in front of her. “I’ve hired you all to protect me.”

“And the princes and princesses?” One of them asked and Eteri scoffed, shaking her head.

“Traitors you mean. They’ve all run away in the king’s time of need. Even his heir. If you see them, which I doubt, throw them in the dungeons.”

“As you wish, Your Majesty.” They all bowed low to her collectively, and her eyes sparkled dangerously, drunk on power and hungry for more.

“Follow me!” Sergei commanded, marching out in front of them. The group followed him and split up. Some men went on patrols, some secured the castle by locking up the main doors, and there were new guards stationed at nearly every entry and exit point.

In Queen Shizuka’s dance pavilion, the circular stones in the garden that didn’t have flowers on glowed gold, and the stones vanished to reveal an entrance into the magic land. Yuzuru and Javier were lifted out by the sparkles first, and the cobbler held the prince’s waist carefully to check he was alright when they landed on solid ground. One by one, his other siblings landed down too, and took in their surroundings.

“Mother’s dance pavilion?” Jason raised an eyebrow.

“I’m not surprised it leads here.” Rika elbowed him lightly.

When all the siblings were safely set down, the entrance closed behind them, leaving the circle of stones once again. Gabrielle sighed wistfully, looking at where the entrance was moments ago.

“I’ll miss going there.”

“We all will,” Evgenia patted her arm lightly, sighing. Daisuke glanced around at his siblings before he nodded firmly, taking charge.

“Let’s fine Papa.”

The siblings followed his lead, and Javier kept a hand on the small of Yuzuru’s back, before the oldest stopped them behind a hedge. The unmistakable sound of hooves against the ground got louder, and they stopped to listen.

“Queen Eteri has given us orders.” A rough voice none of them recognised said. Shoma and Kazuki exchanged a look.

“Queen?” They whispered together, looking to Daisuke for answers. The voice kept talking.

“Capture the princes and princesses, and then lock them in the dungeons.”

“And the king?”

“He’s sick and won’t last the night.” The first dismissed as the pair set off on their horses once again. Daisuke looked up in horror, meeting his sibling’s eyes.

“How did this happen?” Yuzuru whispered, trying to think of answers.

“Did they seriously say that Papa is ill? We have to save him.” Gabrielle said firmly.

“What about Sergei?” Deniss asked, hiding behind Daisuke’s leg.

“And all the new guards.” Koshiro poked his head out from behind Daisuke’s other leg.

“A-and… And if Eteri is queen…” Jun mumbled, looking up at Yuzuru with wide fearful eyes.

“We still have something that Eteri doesn’t,” Mao whispered to him gently. “The power of twelve. There are twelve of us and one of her.”

“Oh, what are we then? Invisible?” Matteo hissed to Javier who shot the parrot a glare.

Rika started whispering her plan to the group, guiding them through her ideas for their big break in plan.

"Clear?" she whispered to the group. They all nodded and she grinned. Daisuke knelt down to look at the youngest three seriously.

"Deniss. Koshi. Jun. You need to wait out here for us. Stay hidden in the pavilion and don't come out until one of us gets you, okay?"

The trio nodded, and, with one final wave, the other nine siblings plus Alina, Javier, and Matteo, scattered to put their plan into action.

Mao and Rika stretched a rope across from the wall of the palace to where Rika was hidden by the hedge, successfully knocking one of the guards off his horse. Mao jumped onto it instead.

"I'll bring the doctor as fast as I can! You go on ahead and do what you can to help him!"

She rode off out of the palace gardens with a practiced ease and down the driveway, out onto the main road and off towards the doctor.

 

"To the left. The left. No, my left Sergei. Yes. Now straighten it." Eteri demanded before she stepped back with a smile. "Much better."

Where Shizuka's portrait had once been in the main hallway, hers now was, with the glittering crown on her head and a smirk that would have sent chills up any of the siblings' spines.

 

Back outside the palace, Jason and Gabrielle both threw small rocks at two of the guards' heads. They hit the helmets, not hurting them in the slightest, but it drew their attention.

"Over here!" Jason teased, and the pair took off running together, drawing the pair of guards away from the palace. As the two distracted the guards, the others, led by Daisuke, slipped in through the side door that the pair had been stationed at. Jason and Gabrielle grinned; their part of the plan was done. It was now up to the others to do their jobs.

"Got you! Pair of traitors the both of you are. To the dungeons with you!"

Meanwhile, Shoma and Kazuki waited by the hedges and waved at more guards, encouraging them to chase them along the hedges. The twins smirked as guard after guard fell into the bushes but they were fine, standing on their stilts instead of trying to make the poor plants support their weight. Like Jason and Gabrielle, their job was to distract the guards outside to buy the ones inside more time and to protect Deniss, Koshiro, and Jun from being caught.

 

"Cousin, I have your tea!" Eteri pushed the tray into the king's room, and Sergei shut the door behind her with a cold smirk on his face.

"Oh Sergei!" the footman looked up to see the heir to the throne, Daisuke, waving at him from down the corridor. He snarled, rushing towards the prince.

"Hey! Come back here you traitor! If one of you is here, then the rest of you are around here somewhere!"

The prince took off, leading the other down a flight of stairs, around corners to areas of the palace that Sergei didn't even know existed, but the prince never got out of his sight. Almost blinded by his need to catch him, he didn't pay attention to his other senses.

Around one corner, Javier tripped him as Evgenia and Yuzuru shoved a wheeled tray at him. Sergei fell onto the tray and it sailed into another room. Rika pulled the doors firmly shut, and she and Javier put planks of wood between the handles to trap the man firmly in. He threw himself against the door, trying to get out to no avail.

"Well done," Daisuke whispered to his siblings when firm hands pulled his arms behind his back.

"We've got you traitors," one of the guards hissed, and Evgenia kicked at the one holding her arms. Javier pulled Yuzuru out of the way of the guard and towards the king's room.

"Go Yuzuru!" Daisuke shouted as he, Rika, and Evgenia all struggled against the guards leading them towards the dungeons.

"But, Daisuke--"

"Go!"

Javier pulled him away from the other guards and Yuzuru had to force himself to look forwards and not back.

 

Outside, still hidden behind the hedge, Jun looked down at the small crystal vial clasped in his hands. He looked around the hedge, swallowing the lump in his throat.

"I-I think I should give this to Daisuke or Yuzuru..."

"But Dai said to stay right here until one of them came to get us," Deniss countered. Jun looked between the vial and the palace again before he shook his head firmly.

"It can't wait." He decided before he ran towards the door. Wrestling it open, Deniss and Koshiro exchanged a worried look as their brother disappeared into the palace.

"Jun! Junnie, no!"

 

"That's it cousin," Eteri smirked as she stood by his bedside. "The very last drop."

The king finished his cup of tea before his head went dizzy and his vision started to swim. He rubbed at his forehead, mind a fuzzy mix.

"D-dizzy... My head... Oh..."

"You won't be missed Alexei." Eteri admired her fingernails idly, a cold smirk that sent shivers down the king's spine on her face. "Well, at least not by me." She couldn't hold back her cold chuckle. The king's eyes widened in fear as he looked down into the empty cup.

"Eteri," he choked out. "W-what... What have you... Done...?" he fell limp to one side. The delicate china cup dropped out of his hand, shattering on the carpeted floor. Eteri circled his bed triumphantly, smirking.

"Yes. You've ruled long enough, haven't you? And your precious children aren't here to take over, so I suppose I will have to rule. What a shame. What a sad life that will be for me as queen. Shizuka wasn't a real queen, but I will be."

The double doors to his room flew open and Eteri flinched back in shock. There, before her, was Yuzuru and the cobbler. She opened and closed her mouth several times, just staring at the prince.

"P-papa! What did you do to him?" Yuzuru's eyes snapped to her, full of fear, rage, and pain.

"What... How... How did you... Sergei! Sergei! Get him! He's in here!"

"I'm sorry," Javier stepped up to Yuzuru's side defensively, "he won't be coming."

"What?"

"He's locked up, Eteri." Yuzuru gave her a look of thunder. "Just like you're going to be."

"Oh, you think so do you?" She raised the flower that Daniil had snatched for her from the magic land. Raising it, she eyed up the two decorative suits of armour in the room. "I wish for armour to protect the queen!"

With a wave of her hand, the golden sparkles came out of the flower and surrounded both suits. They both came to life, brandishing a sword and a ball and chain flail, and Javier instinctively put himself between them and Yuzuru.

"I'm a prince, not a baby," Yuzuru hissed to him.

 

Down below, Sergei slammed into the door with his full weight and dispelled the planks of wood holding them shut. he stumbled out and brushed himself off before his face set into a glare and he set off to look for Daisuke, Rika, Evgenia, and Yuzuru.

"I'd better warn them about Sergei," Matteo whispered to Alina. The parrot took off when a grey mass pinned him down against the ground, holding him back. "What do you think you're doing?" Daniil just smirked and took hold of one of Matteo's feathers, pulling it out. The parrot shrieked and glared at him.

"Awww, did that hurt? Well, what about this one?" He reached for another but Matteo moved his wing.

"Not a purple one! No! They're my favourites!"

As Daniil reached for a purple feather again, a sickening snap was heard and he shrieked, jumping up and trying to get the mouse trap off his tail. Alina smirked, watching him dance around the corridor with a grin.

"Thanks," Matteo made it back onto his feet with a grin to her, "tiger."

 

Jun darted left and right through the palace halls, trying to find one of his siblings, anyone, but particularly Daisuke or Yuzuru. He rounded a corner and ran straight into Sergei. With side eyes, the child tried to turn tail and run, but his wrist was grabbed almost painfully and he was tugged along after the footman

 

In the king's room, Javier grabbed a poker from by the fireplace and took a swipe at one of the suits of armour. It used the ball and chain flail to knock it from his hand, and he grimaced as Yuzuru used a chair as a shield to avoid being stabbed with the sword on the other side of the room. The armour then threw the chair out of Yuzuru's hands, getting the sword out of it from where he'd jammed it in, and the prince backed up as his shield was gone. Javier, half distracted by the prince nearly getting hurt, almost got hit with the flail himself. He rolled across the room, trying to come up with a plan.

"Come on," Eteri hissed, "get them both! Now!"

Javier slid a table across the room that Yuzuru ducked under in time to avoid getting his head or shoulder hit with the sword.

"Nice timing," he half chuckled before he threw a candlestick holder at the cobbler. "Javi, use this!"

The cobbler caught it easily and knocked the flail out of the armour's hands with it, throwing it over towards where Yuzuru was. With some precise, well placed hits to the armour, the one in front of Javier crashed down and the magic spell was broken. Yuzuru wrapped the flail around the other armour's legs and pulled them out from underneath it so that the suit fell back into its pieces and the wish no longer worked. Javier offered him a hand up and the pair headed over to Eteri, faces set.

"It's over Eteri." Yuzuru hissed.

The doors flew open again and Yuzuru's heart stopped. There, in the doorway, Jun was struggling against Sergei's firm grip on his wrist. The younger looked up to meet his older brother's eyes, and fear welled up in them.

"Y-Yuzuru..."

"J-Junnie?!"

"Over?" Eteri's eyes lit up and she laughed. "Really Yuzuru? Well, not if you want to see your little brother again."

Javier held Yuzuru's shoulders, supporting him to stop him collapsing due to the shock of the situation. Eteri shook her head at him with a sigh.

"You know, you never seemed far from the leader. If you weren't the leader, like your big brother Daisuke was, then you'd always be making suggestions and interfering. I don't like people like you, Yuzuru. But, since I'm so kind, why don't I give you what you've always wanted." Eteri raised the flower and Javier held Yuzuru a little bit closer to him. "I wish you would dance forever, and ever, and ever!"

Yuzuru's eyes widened and he shoved Javier away quickly. Reaching frantically, his hand closed around his fan handle, and a plan clicked together in his mind. Opening it up, he fanned hard enough that the golden sparkles from the flower blew towards Eteri instead of him. They hit her instead and her whole body glowed golden. Her limbs moved without her intending it and she started dancing.

"W-what's happening?" She asked in shock. Sergei looked at her, very confused.

"Oh, uh, I don't know Milady."

"I... Can't... I can't stop!"

"Oh, uh," Sergei let go of Jun to try and help the Duchess, "Come here Your Grace!"

As soon as Sergei's hands took hold of Eteri's the golden light enveloped him too. The footman found himself unable to stop dancing, and Eteri frowned at him.

"Let go of me! Let go of me!"

"U-uh, I can't. We're stuck! Oooh, we're stuck..." "Why are you smiling?" Eteri hissed as they danced towards the door. "Let go-- stop stepping on me!"

As the cries and complaints from her grew quieter, Yuzuru rushed over to the bed. He took hold of his father's hand, flinching at the coolness of it, before he tried to shake him.

"P-papa? P-papa, please, can you hear me?"

"I think I can help him," Javier and Yuzuru both looked up to see Jun rushing across the room to them. The cobbler helped him up onto the bed next to their father, and he unstopped the crystal vial. "It's from the lake, Yuzu. I took some after I scraped my knee."

The older brother watched, tears in his eyes that threatened to fall, as his younger brother poured the water into their father's mouth. The tell-tale sounds of the magic from their secret world were faintly heard, and Yuzuru watched him intently. Javier kept his hand on the prince's back, and the older almost sagged with relief when he saw the king's fingers move.

"I-It's working Jun..."

Their father blinked and Jun gasped, a smile blossoming on his face as Yuzuru burst into tears, hiding his face in Javier's shoulder as his emotions overtook him.

"J-Jun Hwan? Yuzuru?"

"W-We... We thought..."

"They thought they'd lost you," Javier supplied gently.

"Where are your siblings?"

"Locked in the dungeons." Yuzuru sniffled into Javier's shoulders. The king shook his head, ringing a bell to get in a servant.

"Well we can't have that, can we? Release all the princes and princesses locked up at once!" He told the servant who bowed and left. He then turned back to his two sons, shaking his head. "It was Eteri poisoning me. How can I have been so blind?"

"We let you down, Papa," Yuzuru mumbled. "We'll do better. We'll try to be more proper."

"No." The king said firmly. "You are each special, beautiful princes and princesses. And you'll do amazing things in your own way, just like your mother always told me you would." He opened his arms to his youngest son and Jun all but launched himself into them. "Oh, my dear Junnie. Where would I be without you?"

The other siblings filtered in one by one, and Mao came in with the doctor too. They each gave the king a hug before the doctor checked him over. Javier went to leave with Yuzuru when the king cleared his throat, calling him back.

"You have my blessing. Yuzuru loves you, clearly, and I want him to be happy. So you have my blessing."

Javier bowed his head, glowing with happiness. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

Outside the room, Daisuke raised an eyebrow at him. "Our father may have given you his blessing like that, but just remember this: if you hurt Yuzuru, there are eleven of us ready to take you on for it. Clear?"

"As crystal," the cobbler said meekly.

* * *

 

Outside the palace, Eteri and Sergei still danced as they headed towards the open gates. One of the servants quickly pulled the queen's crown off Eteri's head before he waved to the pair of them. Daniil chased after them, trying to catch up, as Eteri complained about Sergei the whole time.

"You're the worst dancer I've ever seen!"

"You're a lovely dancer Milady. I really should have brought my extra shoes."

* * *

 

On a warm sunny day, the twelve siblings sat together in a horse drawn carriage. Mao was at the front with Deniss and Koshiro next to her, both dressed in white and holding flowers, and her in her red dress. Behind them were Rika, Jason, Gabrielle, Evgenia, Shoma, and Kazuki who were all chatting and smiling. Behind them, at the back of the carriage, Yuzuru fiddled with his necklaces and bracelets with Jun on one side and Daisuke on the other. His oldest sibling placed a hand lightly on his and Yuzuru looked up to meet his calm, warm eyes.

"Relax. He still wants to marry you. Of course he loves you. You don't need to worry about this. He's been in love with you since as long as you've been in love with him."

"And you look really pretty Yuzuru! Beautiful!" Jun piped up, smiling at his older brother in his own white suit.

"T-thank you," Yuzuru whispered, smoothing down the feathers and gemstones accenting the dipped neckline. He hoped Javier would appreciate the plunging back line of the white part of the suit.

By the queen's dance pavilion, Javier fiddled with the lapels of his suit next to Yuzuru's father. As the carriage drew near, he exchanged a glance with the other man before he turned away, not wanting to ruin the moment. The other princes and princesses filed out of the carriage, and the king offered Yuzuru a hand and a warm smile.

"Today is truly an amazing day, isn't it Yuzuru?"

"Yes Papa," the prince stepped down from the carriage with a beaming smile before he adjusted his golden grown quickly. "I'm finally on time for something."

As they both exchanged a laugh, the king led his son down the aisle. Javier turned and his mouth fell open in awe. The other princes and princesses lined the edges of the aisle, smiling at their brother. Evgenia was a sobbing mess, crying about how beautiful her baby brother looked. Deniss, Koshiro, and Jun Hwan walked in front of Yuzuru with little bouquets of flowers.

But Javier's heart fluttered the most when he saw Yuzuru. He wore the most beautiful white shirt, accented with feathers and gemstones along the low neckline, and the golden crown made his eyes sparkle too. Yuzuru swallowed down his nerves as the feeling hit him.

_I'm marrying the man I love_

At the end of the aisle, Javier offered Yuzuru his hand and, without hesitation, the prince took hold of it.

Once married, the pair danced around together like they had all those nights ago. Now, they could truly enjoy being with each other. They could enjoy the beauty and smiles of the other. They could enjoy how naturally they danced together and how easily everything clicked into place for them.

"I don't know much about the future," Yuzuru whispered as they danced, "but I know that I will never stop loving you."

Around the pair, also dancing, were Yuzuru's siblings. They'd paired up age wise and were dancing together too. Jun was dancing with the king and the household and royals felt a true happiness once again. Yuzuru pulled Javier down into a kiss, and they both smiled into it. Javier had been accepted into Yuzuru's family, and their love was there for the kingdom to see.

And they all lived happily ever after.


End file.
